One Piece Chronicles: Jolly Roger Zephyr
by Aniperve
Summary: When a young man with a very powerful dream decides to see it through all the way to the end, you'd best not get in his way. Especially when he's got the power of the Devil Fruit and his nakama backing him up! A completely OC story
1. Base 107 Arc Chapter 1

**One Piece Chronicles: "Jolly" Roger Zephyr**

**By Aniperve**

_Summary: When a young man with a very powerful dream decides to see it through all the way to the end, you'd best not get in his way. Especially when he's got the power of the Devil Fruit and his nakama backing him up! A completely OC story_

**Disclaimer: I do not own a lot in this story. Some places as well as some characters belong to Eichiro Oda.**

**A/N:** You read the summary right? Well, that will be in another chapter later on.

**Base 107 Arc Chapter 1: A New Pirate Emerges! His Name is Roger Zephyr!**

Soft waves crashed against the side of a small, wooden dinghy in habited by a very tired, hungry pirate.

The young man wore an olive green bandana with a cream colored, short-sleeved shirt. He also had an olive green sash tied around the waist of his black pants. Unfortunately, for him, it appeared as though footwear was a luxury for him as he seemed to wear no shoes or sandals or anything of the like. A tuft of his blonde hair poked out of the front of the bandana and out of the bandana, reaching about halfway down his neck. His wrists were adorned with metal wristbands and his blue eyes were covered by a pair of black, oval sunglasses.

He sighed heavily as his boat moved slowly through the ocean. He looked over the side into the deep blueness of the water below. "Maybe it would go faster if I paddled a little…" he queried. With another sigh, he sat up in the boat and grabbed hold of the oars. He grunted with each stroke, but he was glad to see that the boat was starting to move.

"I can't even rely on the ocean anymore…" He shook his head. Suddenly, there was a loud gurgling sounds coming from the young man. "Maybe I'll hit a sea-going restaurant and I can get something to eat and drink… Oh! And maybe dessert and coffee! All those great things!" As his mind wandered, he didn't notice that his arms were moving faster to the thought of food and eating.

"I've been out here for three days and I deserve that much at least!" He didn't notice that the ocean's current was starting to push against him.

"I'm so hungry!"

He didn't even notice that there was a much larger ship heading in his direction.

Although the sound of deckhands yelling at him did catch his attention for a bit, it was still too late. There was a collision and the young man was flung from his dinghy, which was destroyed in the crash.

The young man dropped into the ocean, in which he struggled. "Help!" he yelled. "I… I can't sw-" and with that, gravity put in it's final word and pulled him towards the bottom of the ocean.

Everything around him was blue and he felt himself getting weaker and weaker. And all of a sudden, he lost his consciousness to the warm ocean water.

---

His blue eyes opened slowly, trying to take in his surroundings.

"Sir, he's awake!"

He started to recognize basic shapes. He saw a door, a lamp and a chair.

"Don't just stand there, moron! Get him some food, yup?"

The young mans lips open wide for a sudden gasp of air as he sat up quickly at the mention of food. He looked around the room and saw probably three people in the room besides himself. One of them was a very attractive woman, perhaps twenty or twenty-one years of age with deep brown hair. Beside her was a muscular black man with a pair of big, square, reflective sunglasses and a big, black afro on top of his head. The third person was at the door. He was bald, except for the prominent goatee he had on his face, which was red. He was also quite short, if that helps with the visualization.

"Are you alright?" asked the female. "You were out for about two, maybe three hours."

The young man nodded slowly looking around the room again. "I'm fine… I think…" He looked to the female. "Where am I and how did I get here?"

The short man stepped in. "You, my friend, are at Marine Base 107, yup!"

The young man's eyes widened. "I'm… At a Marine's base?"

The man nodded. "Yes you are. And as for how you got here, that would be because of Private Koe here." He looked towards the other man.

He nodded, causing his afro to shift a little. "Well, when you fell into the ocean and saw you couldn't swim, I just jumped in without thinking to save you!" He bowed a little. "I hope that's alright."

The young man blinked. After a few seconds he started to chuckle. "Well, of course it's alright." He looked at him with a large smile. "I'm in debt to you!"

"Actually…" Cut in the short man. "It was my ship that passed by and he was working on my ship when he saved you, so therefore, you really owe me!"

"My name is Roger, nice to meet you!" The young man said to Private Koe.

"Hey! Listen when you're being spoken to!" The short man exclaimed. He cleared his throat and regained his composure. "Anyway, I am Captain Redding of the Marines. I will allow you to rest here with Private Koe and Sergeant Ai…"

A loud grumbling noise came from Roger's stomach.

Captain Redding chuckled. "We'll of course prepare a meal for you while you rest."

Roger smiled. "That's great! Thank you!"

Redding smirked and turned around. "No problem, now you owe me that much more." He started to walk away. "Koe, Ai, you're both dismissed for now."

"Yes sir!" They both replied. They waited until he was out of earshot to start relaxing.

"He's finally gone…" Sighed the female, obviously Sergeant Ai.

"What a relief!" Exclaimed Private Koe.

Roger looked at them. "Do you not like him?"

The female shook her head. "It's not so much that we don't like him…" she started. "It's just… He run things a bit differently then we would like."

"Yeah, plus, he's an asshole!" Private Koe snorted as he crossed his arms.

The female looked at him. "Desi, what's wrong with you?"

Roger clapped. "Yeah! Yeah! He is an asshole!"

Ai looked at him. "Don't encourage this!" She exclaimed.

"Look, fact of the matter is, he managed to save me from some pirates, so I joined the Marines to pay him back!" Desi stated.

Roger blinked. "Were you really that grateful?"

"Not at all!" He replied. "He made me feel guilty that there was nothing I could do to pay him back, so I joined the Marines!"

Ai chuckled. "He does seem to like to work through guilt. He's really good at it too! He probably ate the Devil Fruit!"

Desi chuckled as well. "Yeah, the Zaika Zaika no Mi, or the Hikui Hikui no Mi! (A/N: Guilt Guilt Fruit and Short Short Fruit)"

Roger chuckled. "Wow, if he heard you guys talking like that, you'd all be discharged."

Desi smiled. "If that's the case, then where do I sign up! All we do here is work, work, and work. I wouldn't mind though if this was my dream…"

Roger blinked. "What is your dream?"

Ai sighed. "Oh boy, here it comes…"

Desi twirled and took his pose, one arm up and one arm down, both index fingers extended. "My dream, is a dream of the stars! I want to be the greatest dancer alive by bringing back the lost art of disco!"

"… Disco?" Roger asked in reply.

"You bet!" Desi exclaimed. "One day, I'm gonna hear people cant my name, and they're gonna say 'Desi Koe, the Disco King'!"

"Wow!" Roger exclaimed with a wide-open mouth. "That's so cool!"

"No it's not!" Argued Ai.

"Huh?" He turned to Ai. "If you don't think that's cool, then tell me what your dream is Sergeant Ai!"

She smiled. "This is my dream Roger." she said. "Unlike Private Dancer here, I actually signed up to join the Marines." She sighed a happy sigh. It's always been my dream keep the justice of the world. Defeating those deserving to be defeated instead of just stereotyping all groups of people and giving them a chance or not."

Roger blinked. "You're talking about pirates, aren't you…"

"Well, believe it or not…" Desi started. "It seems as though there are people in the Marines who still believe in True Justice…"

Roger tilted his head. "True Justice?"

"Oh, let me explain." Ai said. "Nowadays, there are two types of justice rankings in the marines; True Justice and Complete Justice. Complete Justice is the unquestioned takedown of anyone the World Government would deem a criminal, whereas the idea of True Justice is where everyone is judged fairly based on their actions and reasoning and not just their profession."

Suddenly a voice came on the base's loudspeaker. "Sergeant Ai, you're needed in the kitchen. Please report immediately."

Ai sighed. "Well, looks like I'm needed." She looked to the two men. "I'll be back soon if I'm done before we eat."

And with that she exited the room, leaving Desi and Roger.

There was a long silence between the two. Desi then clapped his hands. "So, Roger, do you want to tell me what your dream is?"

Roger smiled and laid back in the bed he was sitting on. "My dream? It's to become much like my father… A proud and courageous man who accepts his fate no matter what!"

Desi blinked and the quickly bopped Roger's head with his fist. "That doesn't tell me anything!"

"Ow…" Roger rubbed his head. "You're pretty mean… Fine, I'll be more specific. My dream is to become a great pirate like my father, or my name isn't Roger Zephyr!"

"Huh… So you want to become a… Wait…" Desi blinked. "Did you say Zephyr?" He started to tremble. "As in Solomon Zephyr?"

Roger blinked. "Oh, so you know my father?"

"Know him?! Everyone knows him!" Desi exclaimed. "He's a man with a 350 million Beli bounty on his head! He's the man the marines have searched for but never came back alive!"

Roger started to stroke his chin. "You know… That does kind of sound like dad to me…" he shook his head. "But I don't want people to think of him whenever they hear my name. I want to be a pirate that even surpasses him!" He pumped his fist into the air. "I will become the Pirate King, because that is my dream!"

A hushed silence fell over the room as Roger stood up and took in a deep breath.

"I am the man who will become the Pirate King, or die trying!"

**To Be Continued**

---

_Desi: I… I can't stand this place any longer… Roger! Take me please!_

_Roger: What?!_

_Desi: You are a much more admirable man than Captain Redding! Let me be your nakama please!_

_Roger: Alright, but I don't think he's gonna give up without a fight…_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Mutiny at Base 107! True Justice VS Complete Justice**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

---

**A/N:** Well, I hope you enjoyed that, review please, it makes me feel so good!


	2. Base 107 Arc Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here we are at Chapter 2 of the first arc. I was actually planning to make the whole Base 107 Arc just one chapter, but it didn't feel very natural, so I made it in two chapters!

I'm actually surprised there was a review before I started writing today, but I thank Luda59 for the review anyways! Thank you!

This chapter is almost twice as long as the previous one, and that's mostly why I cut it into two parts.

---

**Previously…**

"_I'm so hungry!"_

_He didn't even notice that there was a much larger ship heading in his direction._

---

_Everything around him was blue and he felt himself getting weaker and weaker. And all of a sudden, he lost his consciousness to the warm ocean water._

---

_He nodded, causing his afro to shift a little. "Well, when you fell into the ocean and saw you couldn't swim, I just jumped in without thinking to save you!" He bowed a little. "I hope that's alright."_

_The young man blinked. After a few seconds he started to chuckle. "Well, of course it's alright." He looked at him with a large smile. "I'm in debt to you!"_

"_Actually…" Cut in the short man. "It was my ship that passed by and he was working on my ship when he saved you, so therefore, you really owe me!"_

"_My name is Roger, nice to meet you!" The young man said to Private Koe._

"_Hey! Listen when you're being spoken to!" The short man exclaimed. _

---

_Desi twirled and took his pose, one arm up and one arm down, both index fingers extended. "My dream, is a dream of the stars! I want to be the greatest dancer alive by bringing back the lost art of disco!"_

"… _Disco?" Roger asked in reply._

"_You bet!" Desi exclaimed. "One day, I'm gonna hear people cant my name, and they're gonna say 'Desi Koe, the Disco King'!"_

---

"_Nowadays, there are two types of justice rankings in the marines; True Justice and Complete Justice. Complete Justice is the unquestioned takedown of anyone the World Government would deem a criminal, whereas the idea of True Justice is where everyone is judged fairly based on their actions and reasoning and not just their profession."_

---

"_I am the man who will become the Pirate King, or die trying!"_

**Base 107 Arc Chapter 2: Mutiny at Base 107! True Justice VS Complete Justice**

Desi looked in astonishment as the man in front of him, who had only a few hours ago almost drowned, delivered his proud confession. He then shook his head. "Well, I guess I have to give you an A for courage…"

Roger blinked and turned to Desi. "What do you mean by that?"

Desi chuckled. "Well, to become the Pirate King, you'll have to assemble an amazing crew, which means you'll have to associate with the dirtiest cut-throats ever to be assembled in one place."

Roger shrugged. "Not if the group of people I let in my crew are nice people, but good fighters!"

"Pft, yeah, that's gonna happen…" Desi continued. "Alright, how about this; you'll have to sail the whole Grand Line in order to find Gold Roger's treasure, One Piece!"

"Piece of cake!" Roger snickered. "I'll just have the most kickass crew in the world and the biggest, baddest ship on the ocean!"

Desi stroked his chin. "Hmm… You're good…" He stuck up one finger in the air. "Alright Roger, answer me this… What happens if you're caught here?"

Roger blinked again. "Uh… What?"

Desi shrugged. "It seems to me that your confession was a bit too loud, someone may have heard you… And considering this is a Marines' Base…"

There was a few seconds in between this statement and Roger's moment of dawning comprehension. "Ack! This is a Marines' Base! I totally forgot!"

"Stupid idiot!" Desi exclaimed. He shook his head and rubbed his temple. "Still, I bet an imprisoned life of freedom is still better than a free life of imprisonment…"

Just then, there was a large crash. Something had flown through the brick wall of the room, causing the wall to not only crumble, but a large cloud of dust also flew up from the rubble, causing temporary blinding.

Roger coughed in the dust field. "What was that?!"

Desi covered his mouth. "Some sort of enemy attack? Did they bring a cannon?!"

When the dust cleared, they saw what it was that crashed through the wall.

Is was a bruised and broken Sergeant Ai, obviously hurt from breaking through the wall, but it also looked like…

"She… She's been beat up pretty bad…" Desi said examining her body, picking her up in his arms. "Who would do this to her? And why?!"

"I'll tell you why, yup!" Came a familiar voice from the other side of the destroyed wall. The face emerged to be the goateed face of Captain Redding. "Her ideals are the very things putting this military in extreme jeopardy!" He smiled sinisterly. "If every official in the Marines believed in True Justice, the world would be run amok with pirates and criminals! We would be the laughing stock of the World Government!"

Roger looked at him with a look of surprise and a bit of fear. "But… But how did you know?! Weren't you in the kitchen or something?!"

Redding laughed. "Oh, you'd like to believe that, wouldn't you!" He turned to Desi. "When you were joking about me eating the Devil Fruit, you weren't very far off in your assumptions…"

Desi growled a little, clenching his teeth. "What are you talking about, you asshole?!"

"Well…" Redding said, stepping into an unlit portion of the room. As soon as he stepped into the shade, he started to disappear.

Roger looked around. "What the hell?!"

"Where are you?!" Desi yelled.

Then a sinister laugh was heard. "Nyeh heh heh heh! This is what I was talking about! Can't you see it, yup? Well, I guess you can't!"

Roger gasped. "Crap… He's a Devil Fruit user…"

"Exactly, yup!" came Redding's voice. "To be specific, I ate the Mei Mei no Mi _(**A/N:** Shade Shade Fruit. Mei is the first syllable of Meian which means "shade". It also means decree/command to go with the Marines theme)_ which takes effect as soon as I step into any form of shadow. I meld with it and become invisible until I step out into the light, yup!"

Desi raised an eyebrow angrily. "Is that how you figured out?! You were spying on us?!"

Redding laughed one more time. "Spying is such an evil word… Let's call it, gathering information! All I did was meld with the shadows, it was a complete accident that I heard your little conversation…"

Suddenly, Redding charged from the shadows, becoming visible again. He threw his fist at Desi, sending the larger afro man flying backwards and crashing into the wall behind him.

"Desi!" exclaimed Roger.

Then, Ai's body started to stir. She slowly got up and looked around. "Where… Where is he?" She asked, having a hard time keeping her head up.

Desi shook of the hit. "He's right…" He looked around. "Crap, he's gone again!"

"Nyeh heh heh heh heh! I'll see to it that both of you are arrested for treason!" Came the booming voice of Captain Redding. "As as for you, Roger Zephyr… Give yourself up now! If I let a pirate get away from under my own nose, I will be discharged faster then Sergeant Ai here was beat up."

Roger gritted his teeth. "You bastard… Why would I give myself up to you?!"

Redding stepped out into the light and stretched out a hand. "Oh come on… Is that any way to treat someone who saved your life?"

Roger blinked and stepped back. "What are you talking about?"

"Don't you remember? If it wasn't for me, you'd have drowned in the ocean." He smiled. "And all I ask for in return is that you surrender yourself to me… Is that too much to ask?"

"You asshole!" Redding turned towards the voice. Desi had gotten up and was running at him. Desi through his fist which connected perfectly with Redding's nose which caused the shorter man to fall straight on his back.

"There you go again!" Desi started with a booming, angry voice. "You and your guilt! You use it to swindle people out of there dreams and ambitions! You use it to administer your power over everyone! You even use it to do your dirty work!" Desi bent down, picked Redding up by the collar and brought him up to his face. "Quit hiding behind your guilt and trickery and start being a man! Roger did nothing wrong and neither did Sergeant Ai! In the eyes of True Justice…" He paused for a bit and then punched Redding again, dropping him to the floor. "You are the criminal here, not Roger!"

Roger and Ai both went wide-eyed at this display. "Desi…" Roger said quietly.

Desi nodded and turned to Roger. "Roger! This may be much to ask, but I want to be your nakama! With you, I feel as though I can achieve my dreams!"

Roger turned away. "That's a stupid reason."

With that statement, Desi and Ai almost did a face fault.

"But…" Roger continued as he pointed to Desi. "The fact that you were willing to put yourself on the line for what you believed it… That's why I want you to be my nakama!"

Desi gasped. "Roger…" He smiled and bowed. "Thank you…"

"Nyeh heh heh heh!" Redding had disappeared again. "Well, what a touching moment! Too bad nothing will come of it!"

"Damn it!" Desi exclaimed. "He's gone again…"

"I have an idea… Just look after Ai until I'm done, alright?" Roger asked as he hopped through the broken wall. "Hey Redding, you want me, come get me!" The wall led to the Base's courtyard. The place looked extravagant, what with all the tall, shady trees and high brick fences. Luckily for Roger, it was a bright and sunny day. _He won't be able to use his power out here!_ Roger thought to himself.

He turned around to find that Redding wasn't following him. Instead, his voice came on the loudspeaker. "Attention all classes Private and above; there is an intruder in the courtyard, I repeat, an intruder in the courtyard. All classes Private and above make your way to that position immediately!"

Suddenly, the earth underneath Roger's feet began to rumble, as if there was a stampede coming his way.

"There he is!"

"Make sure he doesn't escape!"

"Get him! It's the captain's orders!"

"Aw crap…" Roger replied. He was surrounded be Marines.

"You're trapped, intruder!" Said one Marine.

Roger raised his fists. "Great… I don't think I can take on all of you by myself…"

Then a voice came in from the building behind him.

"**Disuko Kenpou… **_(**A/N:** Literally "Disco Fighting Style")_"

Roger turned to see who or what it was. "Desi?!"

"… **Danger!**" Desi then jumped out and through a kick at one of the marines, sending him flying backwards, causing a whole group of them to fall down.

Desi brushed himself off and gave Roger the thumbs up. "Listen, I'll take care of these mindless drones… Redding's inside… Find him and kick his ass!"

Roger nodded and ran back inside. "Thanks Desi!"

The disco man nodded and turned to the crowd.

"Private Koe, you'd better get out of our way…"

"The captain ordered us to take him down!"

"Shut up!" Desi yelled. "Do any of you know anything about him? He's done absolutely nothing wrong, and yet, you're all ready to persecute him just because Captain Redding said so…" He smirked. "I, on the other hand, hit the 'good' captain several times… It should be me you're after!" he said, showing a fighting stance.

"You hit the captain?!" exclaimed a Marine!

"That's a criminal offense!" yelled another.

"We can't let you escape, Private Koe…"

Desi spit to the ground. "I spit at that title … I have a new captain now… And in the name of True Justice, I will protect him with my very life!" He looked around. "Come on, who wants to feel my Disuko Kenpou?"

---

Roger ran through the base looking for the corrupt captain. "Hey Redding! Where the hell are you?!" He yelled down the hall.

He looked from side to side, seeing all open doors from the Marines chasing after him. Then he noticed one door, not like the rest. It wasn't open very much, only just a crack. It was red while all the other doors were a dull, silver. Roger opened the door and walked inside. "Redding? Are you in here?" The room was very dimly lit. only the light of a candle emanated in the room.

Suddenly, a gust of wind, much like a quick, human breath, blew out the candle, basking the room in complete darkness.

"Well… Looks like you found me, yup…" The door to the hall then slammed shut. "But let's see if you can leave alive, you dirty pirate!"

Roger smiled. "Well, looks like I'm finally acknowledged for what I am!"

---

Desi stood in the courtyard over a bunch of unconscious bodies. "Well… That was tough… But I got the job done…"

"That was… Impressive…" came a female voice from behind him.

He turned and saw a smiling Ai looking at him. He gave her the thumbs up. "You bet. Now let's find Roger before he gets hurt!" He said walking back in through the destroyed wall.

"Desi, I overheard Redding saying something about Roger being the son of Solomon Zephyr…" Ai started. "Is that true?"

Desi sighed and nodded, walking out into the hall. "It's true all right!"

"Is… Is that why you knew he could take on Redding? Because of his father?"

Desi chuckled and shook his head. "Not at all… Men like Redding hide behind that sort of power and prestige… When Roger and I were talking, he told me that he was willing to die for his dream… That told me he wasn't going to die in a place like this before heading to the Grand Line…" He smirked. "The way he talked about his dream and his commitment… It made me believe that he could actually be the Pirate King!"

---

"**Mei Mei no Missile!**" A quick rush came out of the darkness and pounded Roger in the stomach causing him to fall down. "Nyeh heh heh! How do you like that Zephyr! Even though you can't see me, I can still see you!"

Roger got up and wiped his mouth. "Lucky shot…" He raised his fists. "It won't be happening again!"

"Peh, you're starting to annoy me with your cocky attitude…" There was a short silence, like the calm before a storm. "**Mei Mei no Missile!**" Redding yelled from behind. Roger turned and grabbed hold of Redding's clothes and through him to the wall, where he landed with a thud.

Roger smirked. "You see, I told you it wouldn't happen again! The fact that you hit me said that I could hit you too!"

Redding got up and shook off the hit. "I think it's about time we end this…"

"I agree…" Roger said, adjusting his sunglasses.

"Hmph…" Redding took in a deep breath. "**Mei Mei no Missile Parade!**" Redding started launching himself at all different directions, literally bouncing himself off the walls to hit Roger at all different points.

Roger took each hit with a grunt. "You feel that Zephyr?! That's the feeling of you never achieving your dream! Give up now!"

"Don't think so…" Roger replied through the grunts.

"**Henka Henka no…**"

"What's this?' Redding queried, still launching himself off the walls.

"**Massive Right!**" Just then, Roger's right arm grew to twice it's normal size which he trusted in front him. He managed to catch Redding in the arm at which point, Redding stopped .

"**Massive Shot!**" Roger trusted his fist into Redding's chest, making him fly into the wall behind him, causing it to crumble on contact.

---

Elsewhere, Desi and Ai could hear the sound of crumbling bricks. "Did you here that?" Desi asked, looking back at Ai.

Ai nodded. "It came from the Captain's room! Quickly, let's get over there!"

Desi agreed and started running towards the shiny red door.

---

Roger chuckled as Redding flew into the bright sun where he could see him. His arm returned to normal size while he stood over Redding's body.

"How… How can you do that?!" Redding asked getting up.

"You're not the only one who can eat the Devil Fruit!" Roger said with a confident smile. "I ate the Henka Henka no Mi _(**A/N:** Change Change Fruit. Henka means change or mutation)_ and now, I can change the shape, weight and size of any part of my body at will…"

"You… You can do that?!" Redding asked in a shocked voice.

"Just see for yourself…" Roger dug his feet into the ground. "**Henka Henka no Massive Twin!**" Both of Roger's arms grew to twice their size now.

Redding stepped back. "Wait! Have mercy! I was just doing my job!"

"Your job?! Your job was to administer justice and to keep the peace, not persecute anyone you think is a 'bad' person! Your job was True Justice!"

Redding took another step back. "This… This can't be happening!"

Roger smirked one last time. "Take a look at my face, Redding… This is the face of the Pirate King!" Roger brought his arms behind him. "In the name of True Justice, I can't let you go! **Finishing Move…**"

"Wait! How about full acquittal?! How about a medal?! I can get you all the Beli you want?!"

"**Massive Double Barrel Shot!**" Roger trusted both fists at Redding sending him sailing through the air at rapid speed.

"I won't forget this!" Was the last thing heard from Redding's mouth as flew into the clouds and disappeared.

Roger looked at the sky as his arms returned to normal. "That's the end of that!"

"Roger! That was amazing!" exclaimed an impressed Desi, wrapping his arm around the younger man's neck! "You're a Devil Fruit user too?! Never would have guessed!"

A loud gurgling came from Roger's stomach. Soon after, Roger collapsed. "Say… You think you could bring me some food or something?"

---

An hour later, Roger, Desi and Ai were sitting in the dining room, having some of the food leftover from previous nights. Roger was eating what seemed to be more than healthy, Desi was eating as well as he had blew a lot of energy fighting his former colleagues, and Ai abstained from eating so that there would be more for everyone else. It seemed that someone had bandaged Ai up and put her left arm into a sling, but still she was smiling.

"I wanna thank you for all you've done for us Roger…" Ai said with a smile.

Roger gulped down what was in his mouth. "What are you talking about? All I did was beat up a jerk!"

Ai shook her head. "You did more than that! You allowed me and Desi to follow our dreams, wherever they'll take us!"

Roger blinked. "Well, Desi's coming with me, so I can see why he can follow his dream… But what about you? Won't HQ send in another captain in place of Redding?"

Ai giggled. "Well, since we're on our own separate island, so far away from HQ, we were given permission to use the Rank-Up system."

"Rank-Up?" Roger asked.

"It means that the person who's ranked just under the captain will get bumped up to that position…" Desi replied. "Which means…" He turned to Ai.

"Just call me Marine Captain Ai!" She said with a smile.

Roger smirked. "Well, isn't that just great! Looks like everyone's a winner!"

Ai bit her bottom lip. "Actually… Not everyone…" She shook her head. "Although I do believe in True Justice, you did fight a Marines Officer into submission, and in the eyes of any justice, that is a criminal offense."

Roger dropped his jaw. "You gotta be kidding me! I did it because of all the damage he was doing!"

"Yes, I understand that…" Ai started. "But you also got to understand that this is not just my job, but my dream…"

Desi nodded. "I understand… But isn't there something you could do? Maybe turn a blind eye?"

Ai sighed. "I wish I could but my hands are tied in the matter…" She got up and headed out of the room. "I'm going to be helping to recuperate the fallen soldiers in the courtyard." She said not looking back at them. "It'll take a couple of hours so I want you to stay in the base until its over so we can capture. So, don't try to escape…" She walked out of the room. "And especially don't take one of the Marines' ships from the base's port and sail west, the only place we wouldn't think of finding you!"

Soon, her voice trailed off as she headed into the courtyard.

Desi chuckled and shook his head. "Well, we'd better get going…"

Roger looked up at Desi. "Why? Didn't she just tell us not to escape?"

Desi punched Roger in the face. "You are such an idiot!"

---

In the span of about half an hour, Roger and Desi had taken one of the ships in the base's port and headed out west.

"So, what you're trying to tell me is, she wanted us to escape?!" Roger asked trying to figure it out.

Desi nodded. "That's right."

"Oh…" Roger said looking back to shore. "Hey… Is that Ai?"

Desi looked and say the woman waving at them with her good arm. "Thank you both! I'll never forget what you've done! We will see each other again!"

Desi smiled. "That crazy chick…"

Roger stood up. "You're damn right we'll see each other again! Just you wait!"

And with a happy wave and a light-hearted chuckle, Roger and Desi sailed west towards there next destination.

Roger looked up at the sail, seeing the symbol of the Marines. "We're going to have to change that…" He stroked his chin. "And maybe a new flag and some cannons!"

Desi smiled. "How about we settle for some new nakama first?"

Roger smiled and nodded. "Yeah…" He pumped his fist into the air. "Watch out new nakama! Adventure is coming your way!"

Then there was a loud gurgling sound coming from Roger.

"Right after we get something to eat!"

Desi sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?"

**To Be Continued**

---

_Roger: Is this some sort of joke?_

_Desi: No joke… It looks pretty real to me…_

_Roger: But why is it so low? And look at this nickname, "Roger Zephyr, Son of Solomon"_

_Desi: Oh boy… Say, why don't you like being associated with your father as a pirate?_

_Roger: Well, it's a long story, but I think we got some time!_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Bounty Already?! The History of a New Pirate!**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

---

**A/N:** Base 107 Arc is done, next comes a new one… don't miss it! And please, always review!


	3. Windmill Village Memories Arc Chapter 1

**A/N:** New Arc… Well, not so much "Arc" as it is one chapter with Roger's back-story… Enjoy!

Also, due to my word processor being a dick, I changed it from "beli" to "beri".

---

**Windmill Village Memories Arc Chapter 1: Bounty Already?! The History of a New Pirate!**

The cry of seagulls woke up Desi Koe from a soft sleep. With a yawn and a stretch, he looked around and saw that he and Roger were still sailing on the ocean and haven't reached land yet.

"Hey, Roger…" Desi started. "Why haven't we hit land yet?" He looked around the marine ship and looked for Roger. He was standing at the helm of the ship. Desi tilted his head and walked over to him. "How long have we been travelling?"

Roger looked over his shoulder. "Oh, Desi, you're awake…" He looked out to the ocean. "About two days."

Desi's jaw dropped. "Two days?!" He fell to his knees. "If we really were going west the whole time, we'd have hit in island after about a half day's journey!"

Roger turned to him. "What?!" He asked in a shocked tone of voice.

Desi nodded. "We're doomed! We're lost at sea and we'll die out here as buzzard food!"

"Oh jeez!" Roger exclaimed as he pointed off the left side of the ship. "We'd better turn around then before we land on that island!"

Desi jumped a little hearing this. "What?" He looked up and saw they were getting close to an island, even though it was in the distance, about another hour away. "We're saved!" he said to himself.

Roger ran to the ships rudder and pulled it to one side to change the direction of the ship. "We're saved!" He said to himself.

Desi ran up to him and bopped him on the head. "Stop that!"

---

After turning the ship back on course, Roger and Desi managed to dock their ship. Reading a sign as they entered the small port town, they saw that this place was known as Port Brill. Just a regular village by the looks of it. Residential buildings lined the streets with some businesses in the distance that could be seen. A color scheme of white brick and red shingled roofs seemed apparent in the village.

"Hmm…" Desi looked around, taking the sight of the town in. "Well, doesn't this look like a decent little town…"

Roger clutched his stomach. "Hey, as long as we can get something to eat, I'm perfectly fine!"

Desi turned to Roger. "Jeez, you sure like… Food. What's up with that?"

"Hey! There's a restaurant over there!" Roger exclaimed, pointing towards the businesses.

"Hey! Listen when I talk to you!" Desi replied angrily. He shook his head and sighed. "Okay, you get something to eat. I just got to pick up a newspaper or something." He looked to the sun. "It's about noon…" He smiled. "Just enjoy your lunch, I'll be back soon!" With that, Desi walked off in search of any sort of newsstand.

Roger on the other hand headed straight to the restaurant he had spotted earlier. He walked inside and the host smiled. "Welcome! Welcome!" He said, clapping his hands together. "Will it be just you eating?"

Roger shook his head. "Nope, a pal of mine will be joining me soon."

He nodded. "Alright, follow me!" He picked up two menus and sat Roger down at a table made for two. "Now, would you like for me to tell you the specials?"

Roger licked his lips. "Go ahead… Bring it on!"

---

Desi strolled down the streets, his eyes peering from side to side looking at the different businesses that were set up. There were book stores, fruit stands, and even the occasional door salesman, everything that a town like this should have. But something seemed strange. "No taverns… That's strange… This is a port town after all…"

Desi also noticed one other thing. Everywhere he went, the men were tipping their hats, the women bowed slightly and the children would smile and wave. "Well that's weird…" And that's when he remembered. He looked down at himself to realize that he was still wearing his Marines' uniform. "I'm going to have to change that… And also, I have to stop talking to myself…"

Out of the corner of his eye, Desi noticed a small newsstand, selling newspapers, magazines, and things of all that sort. He walked over to it and pulled out five beri from his pocket. "Hey," he said to the owner of the stand. "I'll take one of those newspapers."

The man nodded. "Sure thing, kid!"

"I'm twenty-six years old." Desi replied.

The man chuckled. "You all look young to me!" he said, handing Desi a newspaper. "Here you are. This was quite an interesting issue, but it always is when a new pirate finally gets a bounty!"

"Thanks…" Desi handed the man the beri and walked away. _So, a new pirate gets a bounty?_ Desi thought as he opened the paper and a bounty poster fell out and slowly drifted to the ground. "Huh… I wonder…" He picked up the poster and gasped, dropping the newspaper. "No… No way…"

---

"Sir… I think you've had enough…"

Roger sat at his table with a stack of about ten empty plates right by him. "No! I'm still hungry! Bring me something I haven't eaten yet!"

Everyone else in the restaurant was watching him with a mix of awe and disgust. The host sighed. "Alright, I'll go see if we have anything left in the kitchen." He took the plates and headed back to the kitchen.

Roger sat back in his seat and took a sip of the water he had ordered. "I can't believe they don't serve any booze here…"

The door slammed open and Desi ran in, looking around. "Roger? Roger?!" he searched the place, out of breath.

Roger raised his hand. "Oy! I'm Roger!"

Desi ran over to the table. "Roger… You'll never believe this!"

Roger looked at him. "Alright! Desi, calm down!" He smiled. "Sit down! Have something to eat!"

Desi hesitated a little, but sighed and conceded anyway, sitting down. "Alright…" He motioned for a waiter to come over.

The waiter came over with a smile. "Hello! How may I help you?"

Desi turned to Roger. "You getting anything?"

Roger shrugged. "I already ordered, but I had something to eat here before that…"

Desi nodded. "Right." He turned to the waiter. "I'll have what he had."

The waiter's jaw dropped. "Oh, man…" The now depressed waiter headed towards the kitchen in a daze, not knowing what the chef would say.

Roger finished his water. "So, Desi, what is it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh! Right!" Desi reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He slid it over to Roger face-down. "Take a look at this…"

Roger blinked, but took the paper anyway. "What is this?" He flipped it over and took a peek as to what was on it.

The paper read "Wanted Dead or Alive: Roger Zephyr, Son of Solomon"

"Don't you see Roger!" Desi started. "You're now a marked man! The Marines will be after you and bounty hunters will start looking for you!"

Roger blinked and started to chuckle. "Really? Start looking for me?" The chuckle turned into a full blown laugh. "Yeah! That's what they'll do!" He pointed to the poster. "Take a look, I'm only worth one million beri!"

Desi bopped Roger on the head. "That's not the point! One million is still a lot of money!" He then realized something. "Wait… Why is your bounty so high anyway?"

"You mean low, right?"

Desi bopped Roger again. "Shut up! Don't get so cocky! All you did was beat up a Marines officer, not like you took down a whole island or something…"

Roger looked at the poster again. "Where did you get this, anyway?"

"I got it in… Wait…" Desi pulled out the newspaper he had bought before and started to read. "Maybe this will explain something…"

The waiter came by with the ten plates of food Desi had ordered. "Here you are sir!"

"No thanks." Desi replied without looking away from the newspaper. "I'm not hungry."

The waiter was almost in tears when he heard this statement.

"I'll eat it!" Roger said, pulling the food closer to him.

The waiter shrugged and shook his head. "Fine, I don't care anymore…"

Desi continued, "Well, now it makes sense…" Desi looked up. "Wh… Where did you get all that food?!"

Roger blinked. "It was yours! You ordered it!"

Desi was about to say something, but instead shook his head. "No… More important thing first…" He looked back at the newspaper. "Apparently Captain Redding eventually landed near another Marines Base nearby."

"What a shocking turn of events!" Roger said shoving food into his mouth.

Desi bopped Roger a third time. "Don't talk with your mouth full!" He continued. "Here he describes the beating you laid on him…"

"Does it mention how he begged for mercy?" Roger asked with a snicker.

"No… But it does mention how you viciously overpowered his underlings, used some sort of demon power to beat him up, and had your first mate disguise himself as a trusted private within the system so you'd know how to take it down…" He blinked. "Hey, that's me! He mentioned me! Sweet!"

"But, what about the poster?" Roger said, finishing up the last of the food.

"That was fast!" a surprised Desi exclaimed. "Well, it says here that the poster was sent out as a pre-emptive strike, before you could do more harm to the Marines or the World Government."

"Well, that's nice…" Roger said, as his interest waned.

Desi read over the article one last time. "Oh, and it says here, and I quote, 'Be extra careful when approaching Roger Zephyr, as he is the son of Solomon Zephyr, and no doubt the same in ferocity and viciousness', end quote." Desi blinked. "But I'm sure that…" He looked up at Roger and suddenly stopped talking.

Roger looked extremely angry. "What was that last part?!"

Desi gulped as he fumbled with the paper. "Well, uh, it…"

"I know what it says!" Roger pulled the newspaper from Desi's arms and tore it into two parts and threw it to the ground.

"R-Roger…" Desi started in a scared tone of voice. "Is… Is there something you want to talk about?"

Roger looked over at Desi, and then took in a deep breath, which seemingly clamed him down.

"Ok…" Roger started. "It was about five years ago… I was fourteen at the time…"

-----

The sun shone brilliantly all throughout the small port town of Windmill Village. Houses lined each road and each road led to the center of the village. In the center of the village was a large windmill, with a blue, shingled roof as well as large, grey windmill blades. At the base of the windmill were two, blue wooden doors. These doors were in fact locked so that only the caretaker could enter.

A young, smiling boy walked through the marketplace. He wore and olive, green cap which was worn so a tuft of blonde hair would poke out the front. He wore a pair of normal blue pants and a t-shirt, with the word "Fresh" written on it.

To the villagers, this young man was known as Roger Zephyr, just your regular fourteen year old boy, trying to make it in the world.

He approached the local fish cart. "Oi! Fish-Man! Gimme ten fish!" Roger said eyeing his selection.

The man behind the cart chuckled, pulling out some paper to wrap the fish in. "Ha ha! Roger, you're just lucky I keep tabs!"

"I sure am!" Roger replied pulling out a bag for the fish. "'Cause I never intend to pay you for the food!"

The fish monger laughed at that and handed Roger the fish. "Here you are… Oh, by the way…" He leaned in. "I hear a ship docked in the harbour today… Do you think…" He started.

Roger just shook his head. "If you're going to ask if I think it's my dad, you got another thing coming!" He smiled. "He's been away for a year! I kinda don't think he's coming back!" He turned around. "I'm leaving, bye!"

The fish monger waved. "Bye Roger…" He sighed. "That poor kid…"

Roger walked down the street keeping his mind on how he was going to cook the fish tonight. Eventually, he found himself standing at the base of the village's windmill. Roger looked up to the blades and his mind went blank.

"Dad…" He said softly to himself. He started to remember what happened a year ago at that very spot

_Roger stood, looking at his father. His coat fell perfectly over his shoulders, his bandana covered his hair perfectly and his eyes were as blue and stern as ever. "Roger…" came the man's deep voice. "I won't be around the village for much longer…"_

_Roger smiled. "That's right! You're going to become a great pirate! Then the world will know you and-"_

"_Shut up!" the man interjected. Roger's voice suddenly stopped. "Roger, if I become as great as I hope, the world will be after you…" He looked up at the windmill. "This windmill is the treasure of the entire village. They would put their lives on the line just to protect it because they treasure it so much…" He looked back to Roger. "Just like how much I treasure you…" He undid his bandana and handed it to Roger. "This is a sign, Roger. As long as you keep this bandana with you, I will always come and protect you with my life."_

Roger blinked as the memory came to an end. "Ahh…" Roger wiped his nose. "I'm getting a bit hungry… The fish can wait…" He turned back towards the marketplace. "I think it's time for a trip to the local fruit cart!"

---

Back at the marketplace, Roger searched for some fruit to eat.

"Roger, can I help you?" asked the bespectacled man behind the cart.

Roger nodded. "Yes, I would like a fruit of the free variety, if you don't mind!"

The man sighed. "Roger, I'm not like that soft fish monger who keeps tabs…" He pointed his thumb to himself. "If you want something, you're going to have to pay for it!"

Roger's jaw dropped. "Aw come on! There's gotta be something! Like a two day old apple? Mushy banana? " He adjusted his cap. "Is there anything that no one will buy?"

The fruit man's eyes flashed. "That no one… Will…" He turned around and started searching around for something. "I do have one thing, now that you mention it…"

Roger smiled. "Really? What is it?"

The man turned around. "I've been advertising it as an 'Exotic Oddity' among fruits, trying to generate business from incoming sailors, but every time I show it to them, they refuse and say something about 'suicide at sea'… Here it is."

He pulled out a red, spherical fruit, covered in swirls. "I've never actually eaten one before, or even seen one for that matter." He handed it over to Roger. "Here you are!"

Roger took the fruit. "Thanks!" He sunk his eager teeth into it and took a bite. After swallowing, he soon regretted having eager teeth. "Ah! That's disgusting!" He opened up his bag and put the fruit in the bag.

"What are you doing?" The fruit man asked.

Roger shrugged. "I'm saving some for later!"

The man almost did a face-fault. "I thought you said it was disgusting!"

The sound of footsteps broke their conversation. They turned to see a rather impressive looking man standing there. He had a cocky smile and hat that read "Skill".

"Greetings!" he said. "I am looking for something to eat for the next time I head out to sea!"

The fruit man blinked. "And you would be?"

The other man laughed. "Oh right! How silly of me!" He approached the cart, pushing Roger out of the way. "I am the legendary bounty hunter Ryoushi! Perhaps you have heard of me?"

Roger got up and dusted himself off. "Watch where you're going, you ass!"

Ryoushi turned around. "Excuse me?"

Roger smiled. "Oh! You don't like it when someone treats you like crap? That's just odd!" He turned around and started to walk away. "Thanks for the food, Mr. Fruit-man!"

The man behind the counter waved as Ryoushi just grumbled. "Who was that brat?"

The fruit man smiled. "Oh! That's just Roger Zephyr! He's harmless!" He turned back towards his fruit. "Now, for you…"

Ryoushi went wide-eyed. _Zephyr?_ He thought. _This is perfect!_

---

Roger returned to his home, and old tavern call "The Blasted Mast". It was mostly a bar created for pirates that came into town. But there hadn't been many customers as of late, so it was usually empty.

Roger headed to the bar and sat on one of the stools. "Hey! I'm a thirsty pirate and I need a drink!"

The barkeeper came in from the back room and sighed. "Ha ha Roger. That joke is starting to get old!" The man was balding and wore half-moon glasses.

Roger snickered. "It's good to see you too Job! How was your day?"

Job picked up an empty glass and started to clean it. "Not bad, I made some renovations to the back room that'll make things easier around here."

Roger pointed to Job with one hand while leaning his head on the other. "Hey, don't forget, that's where I sleep nowadays. And where did you get money? You haven't had a customer in weeks!"

Job smiled. "I sold an exotic fruit to Mikun, the fruit salesman! He paid very well for it!" He started to laugh. "I feel sorry for the loser who have to eat that fruit!"

Roger pulled the fruit from his bag. "You mean this fruit?"

Job looked at it and gasped. "Ah! That's the fruit!" He quickly smacked the fruit to the floor and started to step on it until it was nothing more than a fine red paste. He wiped his brow. "Phew… That was close!"

Roger punched Job in the face. "What was that for!"

Job punched Roger back. "Don't you know what that fruit does?" He took in a deep breath. "That's the Henka Henka no Mi, a version of the Devil Fruit! Whoever eats it gains dangerous but powerful abilities! In exchange, whoever eats the fruit gives up the ability to swim forever!"

Roger gasped. "No way!"

Job nodded. "And the worst part is, you don't even need to finish the fruit! One bite is all it takes!"

The door then busted open. The figure standing at the door was that of Ryoushi, now with an exposed sword. "I'm here to collect him." he said pointing the sword at Roger.

Job looked up at the bounty hunter. "I'm sorry, but I don't seem to know you."

"It's not important!" he replied. "What is important is how much that boy means to me!"

"Well?" Job asked, raising an eyebrow. "How much is Roger worth to you?"

Ryoushi pulled a paper from his pocket and unfurled it. The paper read "Wanted Dead or Alive: Solomon Zephyr"! "He's worth thirty million beri!" Ryoushi replied walking towards them. "You see, I was on my way to collect the bounty of Solomon Zephyr, but here I am now with his son." He pointed his sword at Roger again. "I figure I capture him, Solomon comes running to protect him and then I can collect his bounty!"

Job nodded. "I see…" Job reached for a nearby broom. "I am this boys guardian now… So before you can take him, you'll have to get by me."

Ryoushi smirked. "Bring it on, old man!"

Job looked to an utterly scared Roger. "Stay back? Alright… One way or another, it'll be over soon…"

Job jumped over the bar and turned to Ryoushi. "Solomon trusted me with his son… I won't give him up without a fight!" Job jumped again and waved the broom in the air. "**Job Assault!**" Job swung the broom down to hit the bounty hunter.

Ryoushi smirked. "Oh please!" He swung his sword and cut the broom in half.

Job threw the broom away, not letting it faze him. "**Job Violence!**" He started to throw punches in Ryoushi's direction.

"Now this is just getting silly…" Ryoushi threw his knee into Job's stomach which caused him to double over. "Now…" he turned to Roger. "About you…"

"W-Wait…" Job grabbed Ryoushi's ankle and pulled on it, causing him to trip. Job stood up and looked down at Ryoushi. "It'll take more than that to keep me down!" He ripped one of his shirtsleeves of , exposing his bare arm and shoulder. "**Job Drop!**" He stuck his elbow out and fell down, landing so that he jabbed the other's face with his elbow.

Ryoushi yelped in pain. "Alright! That's enough!" He got up and lifted Job over his head. "Hyargh!" He tossed Job into a wall, spine first.

"Job!" Roger exclaimed.

"You said it would take more to keep you down?" He pulled out his swords and slashed at Job's fallen body! "I'll keep you down for good!"

"Wait!" Roger said standing up! "I'll go with you!"

Ryoushi looked over to Roger with a smile. "Really?"

Job turned over. "Don't…" He said weakly before losing consciousness.

"I'll go with you! Just…" A tear came to Roger's eye. "Don't hurt him! Don't hurt anyone!"

Ryoushi smirked and sheathed his sword. "Don't worry, little Zephyr… All I really care about is the money in this bounty! I won't hurt anyone, I promise!"

Roger nodded and headed towards Ryoushi, taking his cap off in exchange for his father's old bandana. "Now…" The bounty hunter continued. "Where can we hide in the village without anybody finding us?"

Roger sighed. "You promise not to hurt anyone?"

Ryoushi laughed and nodded. "I promised didn't I?"

Roger nodded. "Alright… If we hide in the windmill, no one will go there. The only person who sets foot in there is the caretaker, and he's not due in there for another week."

The bounty hunter smiled. "Well! Sounds like a perfect place!" He reached into his coat. "One last thing though…" He pulled out a rope and tied it around Roger quite tightly, constricting his upper body movement. "We don't want you fighting back, in case things don't work out."

Roger gulped. _This is to protect Job… This is to protect Job…_

---

After cutting the lock on the windmill's door, Ryoushi dragged Roger to the top of the windmill. "Now… To lay the trap…" He reached into his coat and pulled out a Den Den Mushi. He grabbed the mouthpiece and dialled the number. "Hello? Is this Marines HQ?"

"Yes!" responded the gruff voice of the man on the other side of the snail. "This, specifically is Captain Shin of the third division!"

"Well, Captain Shin, I need you to send a messenger to Barren Jungle…" Ryoushi said with a smile. "There's only one human inhabiting that jungle, so I don't need to disclose any name."

There was a pause on the other side of the line. Eventually Shin's voice responded. "We can accommodate. What message should we deliver?"

Ryoushi snickered. "Just tell him…" Another snicker escaped from his lips. "… I have Roger!"

---

Ryoushi waited expectantly by the Den Den Mushi.

Roger on the other hand was sitting in the corner, still tied up. _Dad… Did you mean it?_ He thought… _You're coming for me, right? You said you'd protect me, and I believe you!_

Beda beda beda… Beda beda beda…

The Den Den Mushi started to ring. "That's them!" Ryoushi said with a smile. He picked up the mouthpiece. "Yosh! Tell me some good news."

"Hello, this is Captain Shin again!" Said the gruff voice. "Our messenger had just returned to his base and relayed the message to his captain, who in turn relayed the message onto me…"

Ryoushi snickered. "Excellent! So, what's the report, captain?"

"Well…" Shin started. "If we got the message straight, the report says that 'Roger is big enough to protect himself'. Sorry sir."

Then, Captain Shin voice trailed off, signalling he had gotten off the line.

Roger looked towards the Den Den Mushi. _Did… Did I just hear that? _

Ryoushi just sat there, drop jawed with the mouthpiece in his hand. "He's… Not coming?"

"What?!" Roger started to tremble.

"Well, kid…" Ryoushi turned around. "Looks like you and I are-"

Roger's arms grew to twice their normal size, causing him to break out of the rope. "He's not coming?!" Roger asked yelling.

"What the hell?!" Ryoushi backed away to the wall of the windmill.

Roger gritted his teeth. "He said he'd protect me! What bullshit!" Roger threw his fist at Ryoushi, punching him through the wall causing him to fall to the base of the windmill. Roger started to pant. "Man… That feels a lot better…" He looked at he arms. "But what the hell is this?"

He thought back to Job's explanation of the Devil Fruit. "_And the worst part is, you don't even need to finish the fruit! One bite is all it takes!"_

Roger nodded. "That's right… The bite at the marketplace…"

_He sunk his eager teeth into it and took a bite. After swallowing, he soon regretted having eager teeth. "Ah! That's disgusting!" _

Roger stuck his tongue out. "Ew… It really was!"

Ryoushi looked up at the hole he crashed through. "Rrr… What the hell happened?!" He took in a deep breath. "Oi! Little Zephyr! Now that your daddy won't come! I have no use for you!" He pulled a lighter and a wooden baton from his coat.

Roger looked down at him. "What's he planning?"

Ryoushi snickered one last time before lighting the stick on fire. "Goodbye, little Zephyr!" He threw the stick up into the hole.

Roger watched the stick land into some of the wooden mill parts, causing them to burn. "Aw shit!"

Roger jumped out of the hole and hit the ground with a thud. He quickly turned around to see what Ryoushi had started.

The windmill had been engulfed into flames. Everything inside the building must have caught fire.

"Ah ha ha ha!" laughed Ryoushi. "Well… Looks like you made it…" He pulled out his sword, "But for how long?…"

Roger watched the building burn.

"You know… When we met at the marketplace, I wanted to kill you right then and there!"

Roger focused all his attention on the windmill.

"But then I heard you were Solomon's son, so I figured I'd make some use of you before I killed you!"

Roger started to tear up.

"Any last words, little Zephyr?"

There was a short pause.

"You broke your promise…"

Ryoushi was caught off guard by this statement. "Eh… You wanna repeat that?"

Roger pointed to the bounty hunter. "You promised that you wouldn't hurt anyone… But by burning this windmill, you've hurt everyone in the village!"

"And how did I do that?" Ryoushi asked, holding back a laugh.

"This windmill is the village's treasure and namesake!" Roger explained. "I can't let you go unpunished!"

Ryoushi started to laugh hysterically. "Oh! Did I hurt your villager's feelings! Well, I'm sorry!" He laughed sarcastically.

"This isn't just about the villagers…" Roger looked at him with a smile. "This has gotten personal!" He walked up to the bounty hunter. "By taking away these people's treasure, you have taken away my treasure!" Roger thought back to the fish monger, Mikun the fruit salesman, and Job, the man willing to die to protect him. "This village is my treasure, and I'll protect it and everything they hold dear with me life!"

Ryoushi spat at the ground. "None of that stuff matters to me! Like I said before, all I care about is the money I get!"

Roger smirked. "And now you're going to pay for hurting those I hold dear to me…"

-/-/-

Roger sipped the last of his water. "And that's what happened five years ago…" He chuckled. "And as to who won the fight, let me put it this way! Only one of us got out alive!"

Desi smiled. "That's a good story, but why don't you like being compared with your dad? He's still a great pirate!"

Roger sighed. "It's not about that… He said he's always protect me, but when I really needed him, he wasn't there for me at all!" He shrugged. "I wanna be a great pirate like him, but I want to do it with honor and dignity, not like my father at all!"

"I see…" Desi replied with a nod.

Just then, the waiter came by with a long piece of paper. "Here you gentlemen are!"

Roger looked at the paper, "What is this?"

The waiter smiled deviously. "That's the bill for your meal!"

Desi looked at the final number. "Uh, this can't be right… It's…"

The waiter nodded. "Yes! Thirty thousand beri!"

Roger gasped and looked over at Desi. "Um… Can I borrow some money?"

Desi bopped Roger on the head. "Idiot! You're the one who ate everything! You pay for it!"

---

Meanwhile, back at an old familiar tavern in Windmill Village…

"So… He's at one million beri already?" came the voice on the other side of the Den Den Mushi.

Job nodded. "Yes he is… All thanks to you!" He yawned, cleaning an empty glass. "By the way, how did you know he'd eat the Henka Henka no Mi?"

The was a short pause, then a chuckle. "Because, Job… He's my son!"

Then the person on the other line hung up.

**To Be Continued**

---

_Roger: Hey! He looks like he's in trouble!_

_Desi: Ah! You idiot, that's a woman!_

_Roger: What?! But she's so manly!_

_Desi: Well, whatever she is, let's just leave her- Hey, where are you going?!_

_Roger: Oh come on, I can't resist a fight!_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: A Crime Lord's Hold! The Girly Screams of a Manly Warrior**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

---

**A/N:** Phew! That was a long one! Just don't expect me to write one this big again, kay?! Just… Just review, alright?!


	4. Port Brill Arc Chapter 1

**A/N:** Before we start this chapter, I wanna first thank everyone who has been reviewing on the past chapters. And maybe even reply to some comments made.

**Luda59:** Yeah, you'd think that, but you'd probably be wrong!

**luckyblackcat13:** Hey thanks, I'll try to!

**Malchior the Draco:** Like Luffy… But not close enough… Huh, I'll keep that in mind!

**Justin Brett:** You have a sick, sick mind sir! But thanks for the review!

**kilnorc:** Well, I'm honoured that you would decided to review on my story! Thank you very much!

Now, on with the story!

---

**Port Brill Arc Chapter 1: A Crime Lord's Hold! The Girly Screams of a Manly Warrior**

"Come on! Hurry up!"

Roger sat outside a door marked "Personnel Only", waiting for Desi to come out.

For those just joining us, Roger had run up a thirty-thousand beri bill at a local restaurant. Desi, at the moment, was trying to calm down the restaurant's owner. All the while, Roger sat there shifting on the chair, as if having a thirty thousand beri debt was nothing to be afraid of.

After a while of waiting, Desi finally came out of the room. He closed the door behind him and let out a large, long-winded sigh of relief.

"So…" Roger started. "Are we good to go?"

Desi shook his head. "Not by a long shot!" He walked over to Roger. "I tried to get our way out of the bill, but he… He told me something weird in there…"

Roger tilted his head. "Weird? How so?" he asked.

Desi stroked his chin. "He said he'd lower the debt if he could…"

"If he could?" Roger asked puzzled. "He owns the place! What's stopping him from taking away our debt?"

"He didn't exactly mention…" Desi stated. "What he did say, though, it was all because of kozeni _**A/N:**__ Kozeni is the Japanese word for "coins" or "small change")_…"

There was a silence between the two pirates.

"So…" Roger looked around. "We need to pay a thirty thousand beri debt so that this guy can go to the arcade?" Roger chuckled and shook his head. "That's gonna happen soon…"

"Yeah, I thought it sounded weird." Desi said with a sigh. "But he told me that there's no way we're leaving the island without paying the bill…"

"Really?" Roger asked, getting off the chair. "And how is that going to happen?"

"He's giving our descriptions out to the harbour keepers to make sure we don't leave." Desi explained.

Roger laughed. "Oh yeah! That's really scary!" He cracked his knuckles. "I think we can take a couple of guys who watch boats all day!"

Desi shook his head. "You see, you're lucky you have me!" He poked Roger's chest. "If we get into a fight, we'll eventually have the whole village on our tails, and maybe even the marines coming in to assist them!"

Roger blinked. "No way!"

"Yeah, it happened a lot when I was serving!" Desi stated. "We may be strong, but we're still only two guys!" He started to head for the door. "If we want to be smart about this, we'll find a way to get the thirty thousand beri, or a way to get out of the debt."

Roger blinked reflectively, as if in deep thought. "Desi…" He said looking at the older man.

Desi stopped and looked back. "Yeah?"

"… If we went with my idea… It wouldn't be impossible to get out alive!"

Desi nodded and turned around again. "No, it wouldn't…" He sighed. "It's just not probable. Let's find a way to appease this guy first, 'kay?"

Roger huffed angrily, following after Desi. "Fine! But next time we'll beat everyone up!"

Desi chuckled. "Whatever you say, captain."

---

Clouds started to gather over Port Brill as the day dragged on. Desi and Roger looked for different odd jobs that they could perform to make some quick money, but the responses usually ran the same. Even though it was usually worded differently, the meaning was basically the same.

"I would if I could, but I can't spare the money!"

Roger sighed heavily as they walked down the road to the next business and the next rejection. "I don't get it Desi…" Roger said, looking to his first mate. "First we're told that we need to make some money to pay the bill."

"Right." Desi replied, looking to both sides of the street.

"But," Roger continued. "as soon as we try to get jobs, turns out no one can give us money!" he exclaimed. "It's simply outrageous!"

Desi shrugged. "If you're going to complain, you should think about who got us into debt in the first…" Desi turned to Roger.

Roger was holding what appeared to octopus dumplings on skewers, To be more specific, at least ten skewers.

Desi blinked. "Where did you get those?"

Roger ate one. "At the snack stand back there! I was hungry!"

Desi started to tremble. "So, you're telling me…" He took in a deep breath. "That even though you ate us into a thirty thousand beri debt…"

Desi then punched Roger as hard as he could. "You buy even more food!"

Roger feel to the ground, dropping all the skewers. "Ow! What the…"

Desi grabbed the back of Roger's shirt. "Come on, were going back to that restaurant!"

Roger blinked, being dragged. "Why?"

"You're going to wash dishes for a long, long time!" Desi explained. "It's the only way we'll be able to pay for this!"

Roger then realized what was going on. This was when he started to struggle and throw a fit. "No! No! I don't want to!"

"You have to!" Desi said with a smirk. "We'll keep you inside where you can't buy anything, and you'll pay off the debt in a matter of time!"

"But… But… But I'll break dishes! I'll eat food out of the kitchen! I'll-"

Just then, there was a loud noise. Much like a woman's shriek.

Desi and Roger both stopped.

"Did you hear that?" Desi asked looking at Roger.

Roger nodded and got up. "What do you think it is?"

The noise came again. This time, louder and sharper.

Roger turned towards a darkened alleyway. "It's coming from down there!" Roger started running towards the alleyway.

"Wait, what?!" Desi was shocked at Roger's response but followed him anyway. "That's idiot's gonna get himself in trouble if I'm not there!" he muttered to himself.

Roger ran ahead to the source of the sound. The closer he got, he was to make out different voices more and more.

"We… money……of…and…now!"

The closer he got, the more words he could understand.

"Last chance… for… give us… beri!"

The closer he got, the more figures he was able to make out.

In front of him were three people. Two of them wore similar outfits, both wore a green coat and black pants. One of them, though had a red sleeveless shirt on and the other wore a blue button-down shirt and a pair of triangular sunglasses. In their hands, both of them carried a large sabre.

The third person though was being held against the wall by one of the other two. Their head was topped with extremely short, almost fuzz like hair, except for a tuft of what appeared to be ebony hair. They wore a camouflage print tank top, a pair of baggy pants and what appeared to be army boots,

_Wow…_ Roger thought. _That guy looks tough!_ He looked around and saw that there were no women around.

Desi came running soon and caught up with Roger. He stopped him before they got into the three's line of vision. "Whoa… Hold on there…" Desi looked around. "We don't want to barge in, do we?"

Roger turned and looked at Desi. "I thought you agreed that next time, we'd barge in and beat everyone up!"

Desi thought back and remember that, yes, in fact, he had told that to Roger. "Alright…Just let me take a look before you get anything started."

Desi looked at the three people. "Looks like a basic robbery…" he muttered to himself.

"More like assault…" Roger pointed out the thug's swords. "Look, weapons!"

"Right, right…" Desi looked at the third person. "Look!" He pointed to the person against the wall. "They got two stab wounds in the stomach…" He stroked his chin. "I guess that would explain the shrieks…"

"But… There are no women around…" Roger pointed out.

"Huh…" Desi replied. "Quite a puzzler.

Just then, one of the thugs started to talk.

"So, what's it going to be? Pay the debt with some beri, or with your life?" asked the thug with the sunglasses.

The other one laughed. "Yeah, as you know, Don Senii isn't a very patient person!"

Roger looked to Desi. "Don Senii?"

Desi shrugged. "Beats me… I'm just as confused as you are…"

The person against the wall opened their mouth and coughed, before taking another breath.

Then, the person decided to talk.

"You assholes make it impossible for a woman to get any work in this town!" the person replied in a deep, feminine voice.

Desi and Roger blinked in unison. Soon, they started to notice things about the person.

They noticed the longer than normal eyelashes.

They noticed the subtle softness of their skin.

But most of all, they noticed the curves of the person's chest and hips.

Desi's jaw dropped. "He's a… a…"

"He's a woman!" Roger exclaimed loudly

The three in front of them almost jumped, hearing this. "What was that?" Asked one of the thugs.

"Aw crap!" Desi exclaimed. "They noticed us!"

"Now?" Roger asked. "Can we do this now?"

Desi nodded. "Why not!"

Roger and Desi then jumped from where they were hiding and separated, running around the thugs.

"Ok, Roger!" Desi started. "I'll take the one on the right!"

Roger nodded and turned to the one on the left, who was holding the woman up to the wall.

"Who the hell are you?!" asked the thug on the right, turning his blade towards Desi.

The other one followed suit and dropped the woman to the ground, turning to Roger. "Listen kid, you don't want to mess with us, alright?"

Roger smirked. "You think so?" He started to chuckle. "You obviously haven't heard of me!"

Desi smiled as well. "As opposed as I am to this, you guys have it coming." He lifted his leg. "**Disuko Kenpou…**"

At the same time, Roger took in a deep breath. "**Henka Henka no…**"

Just then, the sound of a match being lit could be heard.

Roger, Desi and the thugs turned towards the source of the noise. It was the woman. It seems that she had gotten up, despite the stab wounds in her torso. She had lit a match to burn the tip of the cigarette she had in her mouth. She kept her eyes closed.

"Stay out of this…" She opened one eye and turned to Roger and Desi. "This is my fight, you shit heads…" She took a long drag on the cigarette and let out a puff of smoke.

Roger's jaw dropped. "He is so cool!" he exclaimed.

Desi turned to Roger. "Tha… That's a a woman! Idiot!"

She reached behind her and pulled out a knife. From the looks of it, she had been carrying it in a knife holster attached to the back of her belt.

She looked long and hard out the thug that had been holding her against the wall. She took in a short breath. "… **Lotus**…" she said softly.

And with that and a swift, upward motion with the blade of the knife, she had sliced up the front of the thugs body, causing him to crash to the ground, unconscious.

The other thug looked to his comrade. "Hey! You can do that!" He ran up to her and threw a quick fist into one of her open wounds.

She gasped quickly for air and then doubled over onto the ground.

Roger gritted his teeth. "That… That was a dirty shot!"

Desi jumped in and ran at the thug.

The thug smirked. "Oh, another one! Bring it on, I'll take all of you!"

Desi frowned. "You know, thug or not, a low blow is a low blow… And I won't stand for it!" He brought back his fist. "**Disuko Kenpou…**" He stopped in front of the thug and threw the punch.

It completely missed his head and whizzed on by. When it stopped, the index finger was outstretched in the typical disco fashion.

The thug looked at the arm beside him. "Ha! You missed!" He laughed. "And here I was, starting to get worried!"

Desi smirked. "… **Ring My Bell!**" And with a forceful momentum, he brought his arm back, his elbow crashing into the back of the thug's head, resulting in a large cracking sound.

The thug fell to the ground with a thud and Desi performed a disco pose. "Aw yeah! Disco king, here I come!"

Roger hopped towards the fallen women and crouched beside her.

She looked up at him. "What do you want?" She asked, sounding angry.

He smiled. "You're quite injured! But don't worry, just tell us where you live and we'll get you all patched up!"

She furrowed her brow. "I have no reason to trust you…" She said, chomping on the cigarette. "But, I guess I have no choice…"

Roger chuckled. "Nope, you don't!" He lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder. "Just lead the way.

The woman stared at Roger then at a smiling, proud Desi. She sighed. "Thanks…"

Roger started to walk. "You can thank us later!" HE thought. "Do you think you can cook, sir?"

Desi bopped Roger on the head. "Fool! That's a woman!" He bopped Roger again. "And stop thinking about food! That's why we're here in the first place!"

---

"So, you're name is Lydia?" Roger asked sitting on the kitchen counter of Lydia's village house.

She nodded as she kept her eyes on the food she was cooking. "Yeah, and I'm a chef!"

Roger smiled a very wide smile. "I guess that's why you're so good with that knife!" He said, referring to earlier.

She took a puff of her cigarette. "You bet. I also used to be an assassin, that helped too…" She sautéed some vegetables.

Roger's eyes went wider. "Oooh! Really? What was that like?"

She shrugged. "It was okay for a while…" She started. "But after a while, the danger and risk outweighs the fun, so I became a chef!"

He nodded. "That sounds about right!"

"Hold on." interjected Desi, who was listening from the corner of the kitchen. "How do you go from assassin to a chef…" He pointed at Lydia. "And tell us what was going on with you and those thugs! Who is this 'Don Senii'?"

"Those are some good questions…" Lydia replied, not looking back at Desi.

A hushed silence fell over the room. Then, Lydia put out her cigarette and began to talk again.

"About a year ago, I decided I didn't want to be an assassin any more, I don't want to go into that in any detail." She started. "I came to this island to start a new life. One of the aliases I worked under was an owner of restaurants, so I decided to go with that. So, I took out a loan to start my own restaurant when I got here…" She chuckled to herself and shook her head. "Little did I know, the loan came from Don Senii himself…"

Roger gasped. "Wow…"

"That's all well and good," Desi started. "but that doesn't answer any of my questions!"

She lit another cigarette. "If you'd just wait, you'll hear everything, afro-man…" She sighed. "Well, as soon as my restaurant went up, I had no more money to hire chefs. No big deal, I thought, I'll learn to cook and then I'll get some money. After that I can hire some chefs."

Desi nodded. "I see… So that's when you learned to cook."

She nodded. "You see, I hadn't gotten a single customer, and all that extra time gave me a chance to practice more and more cooking. Eventually, I had every recipe memorized and perfected by the time I had to close the place down…"

Roger blinked. "So, how would you pay back the loan?"

Lydia looked at Roger. "I thought that with all my skill, I'd be able to get a job at any restaurant in town… I got rejected at every one, saying they couldn't spare any money to keep another person on staff."

Desi looked to Roger. "We had the same problem too, looking for work…"

Roger nodded. "Yeah, they all seemed so stingy with their money!"

"I'm not surprised…" She took a long drag of her cigarette. "One person on this island has a stranglehold over every business in this town… A man with no scruples or any sense of right…"

"Don Senii?" Roger asked.

Lydia nodded. "Yes, he has given loans to everybody in this town. And those he hasn't he blackmails into pay him extortion money."

"That's insane!" Roger exclaimed.

"One man is doing all this?" Desi asked.

"Well, with the help of his various thugs and his intelligence network…" Lydia nodded. "He's in the center of this whole evil operation…" She took one last drag on the cigarette.

"Don Cos Senni!"

And all of a sudden, what the restaurant owner had told Desi had started to make sense.

---

"You're back… How did the hunt go?"

"We… We failed sir! We were about to bring her in! I swear!"

"… What happened?"

"Two guys came… One was a big, black guy with an afro, and the other was a smaller guy, wearing a green bandana…"

"Wait…" A shuffling of papers could be heard. "Is this him?"

"Yes! Yes, that's him…"

"Do you see his bounty?"

"It's… One million beri?!"

"Yes… Just the kind of score I've been waiting for in this dump of a town!"

**To Be Continued**

---

_Lydia: Thinking back, I had some good times…_

_Roger: So why'd you stop?_

_Lydia: Do you really want to know?… Fine, I'll tell you!_

_Roger: Alright!_

_Desi: Uh, that might have to wait a little bit! We have a problem here!_

_Lydia: Sigh… Fine, hold that thought…_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: The Fight Begins! The Memories of an Ex-Assassin!**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

---

**A/N:** Well, that was a fun chapter to write! Enter Lydia, one of my favorite character to write for! Now, hurry up and review already!


	5. Port Brill Arc Chapter 2

**A/N:** Before we start this chapter, I wanna first thank everyone who has been reviewing on the past chapters. And maybe even reply to some comments made.

**kilnorc:** I'm glad you enjoy my characters so much. And you already know how I stand with Roger's bounty.

**MalchiorTheDraco:** It really is a sweet idea! And now, you don't have to wait anymore!

**JustinBrett:** O.o

Now, on with the story!

---

**Previously…**

"_So…" Roger started. "Are we good to go?"_

_Desi shook his head. "Not by a long shot!" He walked over to Roger. "I tried to get our way out of the bill, but he… He told me something weird in there…"_

_Roger tilted his head. "Weird? How so?" he asked._

_Desi stroked his chin. "He said he'd lower the debt if he could…"_

"_If he could?" Roger asked puzzled. "He owns the place! What's stopping him from taking away our debt?"_

"_He didn't exactly mention…" Desi stated. "What he did say, though, it was all because of __kozeni__…"_

---

_Roger sighed heavily as they walked down the road to the next business and the next rejection. "I don't get it Desi…" Roger said, looking to his first mate. "First we're told that we need to make some money to pay the bill."_

"_Right." Desi replied, looking to both sides of the street._

"_But," Roger continued. "as soon as we try to get jobs, turns out no one can give us money!" he exclaimed. "It's simply outrageous!"_

**---**

_Desi grabbed the back of Roger's shirt. "Come on, were going back to that restaurant!"_

_Roger blinked, being dragged. "Why?"_

"_You're going to wash dishes for a long, long time!" Desi explained. "It's the only way we'll be able to pay for this!"_

_Roger then realized what was going on. This was when he started to struggle and throw a fit. "No! No! I don't want to!"_

"_You have to!" Desi said with a smirk. "We'll keep you inside where you can't buy anything, and you'll pay off the debt in a matter of time!"_

**---**

_In front of him were three people. Two of them wore similar outfits, both wore a green coat and black pants. One of them, though had a red sleeveless shirt on and the other wore a blue button-down shirt and a pair of triangular sunglasses. In their hands, both of them carried a large sabre._

_The third person though was being held against the wall by one of the other two. Their head was topped with extremely short, almost fuzz like hair, except for a tuft of what appeared to be blonde hair. They wore a camouflage print tank top, a pair of baggy pants and what appeared to be army boots,_

**---**

_They noticed the longer than normal eyelashes._

_They noticed the subtle softness of their skin._

_But most of all, they noticed the curves of the person's chest and hips._

_Desi's jaw dropped. "He's a… a…"_

"_He's a woman!" Roger exclaimed loudly_

**---**

_She reached behind her and pulled out a knife. From the looks of it, she had been carrying it in a knife holster attached to the back of her belt._

_She looked long and hard out the thug that had been holding her against the wall. She took in a short breath. "… **Lotus**…" she said softly._

_And with that and a swift, upward motion with the blade of the knife, she had sliced up the front of the thugs body, causing him to crash to the ground, unconscious._

**---**

_Desi frowned. "You know, thug or not, a low blow is a low blow… And I won't stand for it!" He brought back his fist. "**Disuko Kenpou…**" He stopped in front of the thug and threw the punch._

_It completely missed his head and whizzed on by. When it stopped, the index finger was outstretched in the typical disco fashion._

_The thug looked at the arm beside him. "Ha! You missed!" He laughed. "And here I was, starting to get worried!"_

_Desi smirked. "… **Ring My Bell!**" And with a forceful momentum, he brought his arm back, his elbow crashing into the back of the thug's head, resulting in a large cracking sound._

**---**

"_So, you're name is Lydia?" Roger asked sitting on the kitchen counter of Lydia's village house._

_She nodded as she kept her eyes on the food she was cooking. "Yeah, and I'm a chef!"_

_Roger smiled a very wide smile. "I guess that's why you're so good with that knife!" He said, referring to earlier._

_She took a puff of her cigarette. "You bet. I also used to be an assassin, that helped too…" _

**---**

"_Well, with the help of his various thugs and his intelligence network…" Lydia nodded. "He's in the center of this whole evil operation…" She took one last drag on the cigarette._

"_Don Cos Senni!"_

_And all of a sudden, what the restaurant owner had told Desi had started to make sense._

**Port Brill Arc Chapter 2: The Fight Begins! The Memories of an Ex-Assassin!**

"This is impossible!" Desi said in disbelief. "How can one guy be putting a whole town into cowering fear like this?"

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know, it was like this when I got here." A little ding went off suddenly. "Food's ready."

Roger smiled. "Finally!" he said standing up. "We can discuss our plan of action while we eat!"

Desi turned to Roger, raising an eyebrow. "I hope you're not thinking about doing that!"

Lydia looked between the two as she placed some vegetables and meat on three plates. "What are you guys getting at?"

Roger snickered. "I figure we have a common goal here!" He snatched his plate away and started to eat the food. "I mean, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Desi chuckled. "Roger, you're not suggesting actually taking down this crime boss, are you?"

Roger downed the rest of the food on his plate and shrugged. "Why not? It's not impossible."

"Of course it's impossible!" Lydia cut in. "If he was beatable, don't you think he would've been beaten by now?"

Roger blinked and stroked his chin. "Hmmm… That does make sense…"

"Besides…" she continued. "I won't have any part of this!" She pointed to Roger. "I'm grateful that you two saved my life and all, but I absolutely refuse to work with pirates!"

Desi laughed. "Yeah! This coming from the woman who was an assassin!"

Lydia shivered at this comment.

"_Assassin… You may try to run away, but your past will never leave you!"_

Lydia gritted her teeth and shook her head. "No! I don't care!" She stared angrily at Desi. "This is my policy and I stick with it." She handed him a plate. "Have your food then get the hell out of my house!" She turned her back to them and started to clean up.

Desi turned to Roger who only replied with a shrug.

---

Roger and Desi exited the house and made their way onto the streets. "Roger… I think it's obvious that we can't pay off this debt through normal means." Desi stated.

Roger nodded. "I agree… And we can't leave without causing a stir from nearby Marines…" He stroked his chin. "I only see one solution to this problem."

Desi sighed. "Unfortunately, I have to agree with you."

Roger looked forward sternly. "So, to free… ourselves, we need to take out this Don Senii…" He adjusted his shades and walked forward. "Let's find him, and kick his ass…"

Desi smirked. _Roger… You say it's to save us… But anyone can tell it's about this town more than anything else…_ He followed after his captain. "You're a good guy after all…" He whispered to himself.

---

Lydia sat in her house, alone resting her head on her hands. "Those fools…" She looked out the window and saw the two men walk into the center of town. "What do they know…"

"_I know all about it…"_

The memory rang again in her head.

"_You say it was an accident, but was it?"_

"Shut up, shut up!" she said tightly covering her ears.

"_The Marines don't have to know… I have a few… Jobs you can do, in exchange for my silence…"_

"_Su-Sure…"_

Lydia stood up. "Why…"

-/-/-

The large man, a muscular figured man with a long brown ponytail and a cigar in his mouth, toward over Lydia. "So, what do you say?"

A younger Lydia, with a beautiful head of long silver hair stood in front of the man, not looking him in the eye. "You… You promise to be quiet?"

The man smirked. "I'm a man of my word."

---

"Lydia, I have information on your next target!" said a mousey, slouched man.

"Thanks Itchy." Lydia said, taking the papers from him.

"Hmph, that's 'Itachi', but whatever!" He smiled. "I don't want Don Senii's prized assassin getting angry and killing me!"

Lydia smirked. "You don't have to get me angry for me to want to do that!"

"Hate to break it to you,, " Itachi started. "I'm higher up than you in this organization. I am, after all, the head of the intelligence network for the Don himself!"

Lydia walked away looking at the paper. "Good for you…"

---

"You wanted to see me, Don Senii?" Lydia said, walking into the Don's chambers. Most of her head was shaved except for a tuft of silver hair poking out the front of her head.

The man, now sporting a scruffy beard and now without a ponytail, stood up and smiled. "Lydia, so nice to see you!" He walked over to her. "I have the information on your next assignment!"

She looked around. "Why isn't Itachi giving me the information?"

He smirked. "He's off on an assignment of his own…" He looked down at her. "To make a long story short, that man works well with a sabre!

---

"I refuse! I absolutely refuse!" Lydia yelled gritting her teeth.

Don Senii blinked. "What's wrong? This assignment is no different than the others…"

"This is incredibly different!" Lydia shoved the papers into his face. "This man is a doctor! A doctor! He saves lives, both young and old!"

"He also broke the rules and hasn't paid up yet!" He took a puff on his cigar. "You know what you have to do!"

"No! I'm tired of killing people that don't deserve it!" She gritted her teeth and threw the papers to the ground. "I'm done with this! This is not what I wanted my life to become!"

Senii took another puff and smiled. "That's fine with me…" He smiled. "But my silence doesn't come free…"

"I killed at least a dozen people! What more do you want!?"

"You have one year… My silence for a crime like this costs one million beri."

-/-/-

Lydia sat back and took a puff of her cigarette. "What a fool I was back then…"

She looked at the window again. Roger and Desi were already out of view. "But… Maybe they can make things right for everyone…"

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Lydia turned. "Now, who could that be?"

She got up and walked to the door and was greeted by a familiar face. A familiar, aged, mousey face. "Hello Lydia, surprised to see me?"

Lydia smirked. "Well, if it isn't Itchy, head of Don Cos Senii's intelligence network."

"Watch it…" He said pointing to her with a smile. "That's Itachi, Don Cos Senii's number two in operations!"

"Well, congratulations!" She receded back into the house. "How can I help you?" she asked.

"The Don, is asking a favour."

She turned back slowly. "A… Favour?"

---

Roger looked around. "Well, I'm stuck…"

Desi nodded. "Me too, where do we even start looking?"

"Well…" Roger started. "Where do you think an evil, money grubber would go?"

"You mean besides politics?" Desi asked with a chuckle.

"Now's not the time for jokes, Desi." Roger stated with complete seriousness.

"Yes, yes, you're right!" Desi stroked his chin. "Well… There's gotta be some sort of clue…"

Roger sighed. "This stuff is hard, I could really use a drink right now…"

Desi perked up. "A.. Drink?" He smirked. "I got it!" He turned to Roger. "Remember when you were eating at the restaurant?"

"I get it!" Roger exclaimed. "It's my fault we're in this mess!"

"No! Not that!" Desi started. "You were drinking water, right?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it, they didn't serve any alcoholic drinks…"

Desi nodded. "I noticed also that there weren't any taverns or pubs around town!"

Roger slammed his fist into his hand. "I get it!" He started running. "Come on Desi! We gotta find the town brewery!"

---

"That old fart wants me to complete another job?" She sighed. "I thought I told him a year ago that I was done with this!"

"Is it really worth your life though?" Itachi said with a smile.

"I'll have your million beri," Lydia said, lighting a cigarette. "Just give me a little bit of time."

"Or, you can get it today…" Itachi snickered. "Finish this job and you'll be out forever, we promise!"

There was an air of hesitation between the two, but eventually Lydia turned to face Itachi. "… Who is it?"

The man handed her a piece of paper. "Here's his bounty poster, he goes by the name of Roger… Roger Zephyr. He's worth one million currently. If you can bring him to the boss, you'll be off the hook."

She looked at the poster and found herself looking face-to-face with the boy who had saved her earlier. "This… This is…"

"We already know you two have met already, that's why the boss says you'd be perfect for the job." Itachi started. "He won't be expecting it…"

Lydia blinked, looking at the paper. "Then you know why I can't do it."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "So, you feel indebted to them? Even though you are also indebted to the Don as well…"

"There is a big difference between the Don and this boy right here!" Lydia exclaimed.

Itachi sighed. "I was hoping you'd go along, but it looks like I'm going to have to get violent…" He pulled out a sabre and pointed it at Lydia. "Last chance…"

"The same goes for you…" Lydia stared at him. "Leave my house before you get really injured…"

Itachi laughed. "Oh! Really scary!" He ran at her. "I think I'll stay anyways…"

"Suit yourself…" Lydia took a deep puff of her cigarette and blew out a large cloud of smoke. "**Dandelion Fog!**"

Itachi found himself caught in the blinding fog. "Urgh… What is this stuff?"

"Smoke." replied Lydia's hidden voice.

Itachi looked around but couldn't see through it. "This isn't normal smoke! It can't be!"

"I blew it into your eyes…" Lydia explained. "Lucky for me, you were stupid enough to run straight at me. I had a perfect shot, straight into your eyes. The blinding is temporary, but what I'm about to do is not."

He registered what she just said and stayed on guard. "I'll get you before you get me!"

"Don't be to sure…" Lydia's footstep could be heard walking around him. "Don't worry, I'll tell Don Senii you went down fighting…"

"No! You can't!"

"**Finishing Move…**" Lydia charged into the fog with her dagger in hand started to stab wildly at multiple points on Itachi's body. "**Magnum Lantana!** _(**A/N:** A lantana is a flower with multiple blossoms and stems)_

Each stab hit and soon enough, Itachi hit the floor.

"What a pushover…" She said putting the dagger back in the holster. "I only hit him with the hilt…"

She looked out the window one more time. "Itachi… The difference between that boy and the boss…" She turned to Itachi's unconscious body. "I believe in the boy."

---

"Here it is…" Roger stated, out of breath.

He stood in front of a large building with the word "Lucky Brewery" written above the door.

"This is the only brewery in town, and it's closed…" Roger smirked. "Don Senii… I'm coming to get you!"

**To Be Continued**

---

_Roger: This doesn't seem that bad…_

_Desi: Yeah, not bad for a broken down old brewery!_

_Lydia: You guys, this is the Don's hideout, remember?_

_Roger: Oh right… Hey, I think they know we're here._

_Desi: Oh good, and here I was thinking this was going to be boring and easy!_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Bodyguard Brawl! Disco VS The Key-Goe Squad!**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

---

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait you guys. I've been busy with exams, so I won't be making any new chapters a little bit, maybe a week or two, sorry for the inconvenience!

I feel like I'm forgetting something… Oh yeah!

REVIEW NOW!


	6. Port Brill Arc Chapter 3

**A/N:** Before we start this chapter, I wanna first thank everyone who has been reviewing on the past chapters. And maybe even reply to some comments made.

**kilnorc:** You don't have to wait any more! That's the beauty of updates!

**MalchiorTheDraco:** Thanks for the compliments… I like making new attacks!

**JustinBrett:** Thanks for the support… Looks like you have a bit of Lady Problems… snicker

Now, on with the story!

---

**Previously…**

_Roger snickered. "I figure we have a common goal here!" He snatched his plate away and started to eat the food. "I mean, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"_

_---_

_Roger looked forward sternly. "So, to free… ourselves, we need to take out this Don Senii…" He adjusted his shades and walked forward. "Let's find him, and kick his ass…"_

_Desi smirked. Roger… You say it's to save us… But anyone can tell it's about this town more than anything else… He followed after his captain. "You're a good guy after all…" He whispered to himself._

_---_

_The large man, a muscular figured man with a long brown ponytail and a cigar in his mouth, toward over Lydia. "So, what do you say?"_

_A younger Lydia, with a beautiful head of long silver hair stood in front of the man, not looking him in the eye. "You… You promise to be quiet?"_

_The man smirked. "I'm a man of my word."_

_---_

_Senii took another puff and smiled. "That's fine with me…" He smiled. "But my silence doesn't come free…"_

"_I killed at least a dozen people! What more do you want!?"_

"_You have one year… My silence for a crime like this costs one million beri."_

_---_

_She looked out the window one more time. "Itachi… The difference between that boy and the boss…" She turned to Itachi's unconscious body. "I believe in the boy."_

_---_

_Roger smirked. "Don Senii… I'm coming to get you!"_

**Port Brill Arc Chapter 3: Bodyguard Brawl! Disco VS The Key-Goe Squad!**

Tap tap tap…

Roger's knuckles hit the boarded up door of the brewery, checking to see if there was someone waiting at the door.

"What are you doing?" Desi asked.

Roger looked back at him and said, "I'm knocking… It is the polite thing to do, right?"

The larger man squinted at the pirate captain. "The polite… I thought we came here to kick this guy's sorry ass!" He bopped Roger on the head. "What's with all the polite gestures?

Roger rubbed his sore head. "Now there's no need for that!" He looked back to the door. "It's just… Lydia was right…"

Desi responded with a confused blink.

"If this guy was beatable…" Roger continued. "He would've been beaten, wouldn't he?"

Their was an air of silence between the two. And until at least a minute when by, it stayed like that. Then, Desi laughed. "I can't believe it!"

"What?" Roger asked.

He shook his head. "You! I can't believe you! You're scared!"

Roger shook his head. "No! That's not it at all!"

Desi closed his eyes and sighed. "And here I was thinking that you were some sort of extremely courageous man who…" He opened his eyes at the sound of breaking wood. He saw Roger smashing the door to the brewery open. "What are you doing?!"

"Opening the door!" Roger answered bluntly.

"I thought you were scared!" He exclaimed.

"I told you that wasn't it!" He held up one of the boards from the door. "These boards are old… At least ten years…"

"What are you saying?" Desi asked.

"Doesn't take a genius, Desi…" Roger pointed at the board. "This is why nobody's beaten Cos Senii!"

Desi looked more carefully at the wood. "It is?" He scratched his afro. "Uh… No one wanted to hurt the wood?"

Roger sighed. "No… This door should have been banged up at least once before we got here!" He looked to the now open door. "It's not that he hasn't been beat, it's that nobody's even tried before now!"

Desi stroked his chin. "You suppose?"

Roger nodded. "I'm almost positive…"

Desi chuckled and looked to the door. "Then, I guess that makes us some sort of pioneers…" He smirked. "Venturing into uncharted territory."

"You're getting full of yourself…"

The two men turned around to see where the voice had come from. Standing before them was a very stern looking Lydia, puffing on her cigarette.

Roger smirked. "I was wondering when you would show up."

Lydia nodded. "Yeah, I had a feeling I'd be coming to find you guys as well…"

Desi smiled. "Well, this is good, the more the merrier!"

The woman shook her head. "Not really…" She looked to the brewery. "Even with the three of us, we are still outnumbered. Four-to-one at least." She took the last puff of her cigarette and threw it to the ground, stomping it out. "Of course, that's what's going to make this impressive."

"You really think we can do it?" Roger asked.

"I do." She replied. "In fact, if you don't manage to win, I'd take my own life."

Desi jumped. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?!" He asked.

Roger laughed. "Alright, but what do we get if we win?"

"You're going along with this?!" Desi asked.

Lydia crossed her arms. "If you win, I'll join you guys… I'll be your cook, or something…"

There was a silence again.

Desi raised his eyebrow after a while. "You sure about that? Being a pirate isn't the safest of professions…"

"Not to mention we'd probably run up a bill of thirty-thousand beri a night on the ship…" Roger stated, stroking his chin.

"It's not about that!" She exclaimed. "It's not about safety, or money, or anything like that…" She sighed. "It's about me and my dream."

"Your dream?" Roger asked.

Lydia nodded. "My whole life, I was told what I could and couldn't do, because of the fact I was born a girl." She chuckled with a hint of sadness. "I was told that young ladies don't play with knives, and that they shouldn't rough-house in their pretty clothes…" She shook her head. "That girly girl stuff is alright, but it's not for me…"

"I see…" Desi said nodding. "But how exactly does this tie into your 'dream'?"

"I'm getting to it…" She continued. "After I left home I started going against the global paradigm towards women. I worked out, I brawled constantly and I became just a lowlife in society. At one point, I even shaved off most of my hair to be treated more like a man…"

"Go on." Roger said.

"My dream is to eventually find a man who is willing to fight me one on one… The prefect opponent, he sees me as a skilled fighter, not a woman." She finally smiled for the first time in her speech. "If I can fight this person at least once in my life, I will be happy!"

Roger nodded. "That's good and everything…" he pointed at her. "But I won't let you into my crew until you give me a reason why you want to be on the crew."

"It's just that!" She started. "Looking at you guys, I can tell you're going places! All over the world even!" She nodded. "If I come with you, I will eventually find the person I'm looking for." She grinned. "Besides, you saved my life, I'm in debt to you."

Desi chuckled. "The girl's got guts… Let's give her that!"

Roger smiled. "Alright, Lydia… Consider yourself part of my crew…" He poked his thumb at himself. "I don't lose!"

Just then, the sound of clapping could be heard. The three of them turned to see where it was coming from.

A large, gigantesque man stood at the brewery door, with two young, smirking thugs standing near him. On the large man's shirt, the name 'Cos Senii' was written and he wore a gold necklace with a medallion in the shape of the beri symbol. "Very, very touching…" The large man said, pulling out a cigar.

Lydia's jaw dropped with a gasp, watching this towering man walk towards the group. "Y-You…"

He grinned evilly. "Yes… Me…"

Roger lifted his fists. "Lydia… Is this…"

"Yes." She answered before he could finish his question. "This is Don Cos Senii… The man of pure evil…"

Senii laughed loudly. "Oh Lydia, you can be so cruel at times!" He smirked, puffing on his cigar.

"How did you know we were here?" Desi asked, lowering his sunglasses.

One of the thugs stood forward. "How could we not know? When we heard the door being cracked into, we knew something was amiss!"

The other thug nodded. "So, we alerted the boss and, well, here we are!"

Both Lydia and Desi turned towards Roger, who in turn looked back att hem with a nervous grin and a shrug. "Heh heh… Whoops?"

Lydia growled and shook her head. "For hell's sake, what did I sign myself up for?" She sighed and looked to the large, muscular man. "What do you want, Senii? I thought I told you I wanted nothing to do with you!"

He blew out a smoke ring. "And you'll get that wish, after I get my million beri."

"I don't have it." She replied.

He nodded. "Of course you don't! That's why I sent Itachi over to your place. Did he give you my message?"

"Yes, he did…" She pulled out her knife. "And then I gave him my message right back. He should be coming to any minute."

Senii blinked and took in a deep puff, burning up at least half of the cigar. "You're taking advantage of my patient nature, aren't you…" He pulled the cigar out of his mouth and put it out in his arm, twisting it out in the skin, leaving a burn mark. "I give you a whole year to pay what you owe, and I even give you a final chance at redemption…" He brought his arm back. "You're just spitting in my face now!"

He swung his arm, the back of his hand making contact with Lydia's face. Desi gasped as Lydia started flying back, falling the ground with a thud.

Roger stood there with a silent stare.

"Ugh…" She slowly sat up. "Why… Why did you let him do that?" She asked, turning to the blonde, pirate captain.

"That's life…" He said bluntly. "If you want to be treated like a real fighter, fine. But remember, you can get hurt in a fight too…"

Desi blinked, looking at Roger, but eventually nodded. "That's true…" He smiled. "There is a definite possibility that would happen."

Roger cracked his knuckles. "However… I'm not just going to stand here and let them get away with hurting you…" He smirked. "After all… You did say if we won, you'd be our nakama!"

She looked at him, drop-jawed. When she regained her composure, she nodded. "Well, I really think you can do it. Just remember, if you win, I get to do what I love with people who seem to care… But if not, it's most likely that man will kill me…" She rubbed the growing red mark on her face. "So, I'm putting all my eggs into one basket here…"

"Don't worry…" Roger turned to Don Senii with an angry glare. "Even though we've known each other for a short time, you trust enough to share your dream and desires… That's why I won't lose…"

The thugs ran up to the Don, pulling out a sword each, grasping them in both hands. "That's nice and all, but there's one problem." started one thug. He pulled his jacket off and revealed a shirt that had the word 'Key' written on it.

The other thug took his shirt off as well and revealed the word 'Goe' tattooed to his chest. "You're going to have to get through us before you can even start thinking about taking on the boss."

The first thug pointed straight into the air. "My name is Key!"

The second thug pointed his thumb to himself. "My name is Goe!"

"And we're…" started Kay.

"The Key-Goe Bodyguard Squad!" finished Goe.

"That's lame." Roger said plainly, not showing any emotion either way.

The thugs dropped their jaws. "No it's not!" they exclaimed in unison.

"But, if I'm going to have to beat you…" Roger started.

Just then, Desi grabbed hold of Roger's arm. "Wait…" He looked at both of the sword-clad bodyguards. "You need to save your energy for the boss…" Desi took a step forward. "Let me handle this…" He extended an arm into the air, finger outstretched. "Let's get this on…"

Key smirked. "Oh, you think you can take both of us?"

"Why don't you crawl back to your tight pants and shiny balls, 'disco-dude'!" Goe mocked.

Desi growled, looking at the both of them. "If that's the attitude you're going to take with this…" He took his sunglasses off and folded them, slipping them into his pocket. "I'll only use one attack… Seem fair?"

"Oh, more than fair!" Key ran at Desi, his sword high in the air.

Goe also ran at Desi. "Yeah, for us!"

Soon enough, the two bodyguards were close enough to Desi to deal some serious damage. Key swung his sword with a grunt, aiming for Desi's weak spot. Desi, though, dodged, jumping to the side.

Unfortunately, he jumped right into the range of Goe's impending slash. "Fool!" Goe exclaimed, swinging his sword down.

"Oh crap!" Desi exclaimed. Luckily for him, he managed to roll away from the slice, dodging yet again. "Wow… That was close…" Desi said to himself…"

"You won't be so lucky from now on!" yelled the bodyguards. They both swung their swords together in perfect unison, causing an attack that was impossible to dodge, even for Desi.

It connected perfectly with Desi's torso, cutting two big wounds into him. Desi doubled over and screamed in pain.

"Oh no!" Lydia got up, but Roger stretched his arm out and shook his head.

"Let him do this…" Roger said with a stern look. "He told me he'd take care of this, and I trust him."

Lydia motioned to say something, but fell silent, knowing all she could do was trust him as well.

Desi slowly got up and gritted his teeth.

"Oh, still got a little bit of fight left in you?" Key taunted.

"Maybe he's getting up to run away!" Goe replied.

"Yeah, he's probably scared!"

"Frightened like a little girl!"

"RAAAAAH!" Desi ripped his shirt off, exposing his wounds, he soon made two makeshift bandages from the cloth and wrapped them around the wounds.

A little stunned by this, Key and Goe took a step back. "What the…?"

"I'll let you in on a little secret…" Desi looked straight into their eyes. "The minute I'm scared of a couple of little fish like you two, is the day I abandon my dream!"

He ran back at the two, who in turn, became more alert and started swinging again.

It all looked like a choreographed fight. Perfectly timed and perfectly executed, for every attack, Desi side-stepped or dodged. Every move was countered with thought and every move was executed with purpose.

"That nut…" Roger said with a chuckle. "Even when he's fighting, all he can think about is dancing…" He cleared his throat and raised his voice. "Oi, Desi. It's about time you finished this!"

"Right…" Desi replied, keeping his eyes on his opponents. He smirked and jumped into the air.

"What is this?" asked a frustrated Key.

"Just keep on guard!" Goe replied.

Desi flipped over and landed on his hands, rather than his feet. "**Super Finishing Move…**" Desi started moving his hands as to twist his vertically lifted body.

The bodyguards readied their swords. "Here it comes…"

"**Disuko Kenpou…**" Desi increased his tempo, spinning much more rapidly now.

The two thugs stuck their swords out, managing to knick Desi here and there, but not really stopping his speed.

Desi stretched his legs out to the side. "**Disco Inferno!**" A combination of blood and kicks flew from the spinning Desi mess, both of which hit each bodyguard multiple times.

The two thugs flew back into the wall of the nearby brewery and fell unconscious.

Desi slowly came to a stop and fell backwards, onto his back. His body was exuding blood from many different points. In spite of that, Desi still had a large smile on his face. "One attack… Just like I said…"

Roger smiled and walked over to him. "That was amazing! I didn't think you could handle two at once!"

"Didn't you just say you trusted him?" Lydia asked.

Desi chuckled. "Are you kidding?" He closed his eyes. "I'm a dancer… You don't get off the dance floor just 'cause it's crowded, right?" he asked.

Shortly after, he passed out, exhausted from blood loss and the amount of energy he just exerted.

Roger waved his hand in front of Desi's face. "Huh… Looks like he's out cold…"

"What do we do now" Lydia asked.

"You find a safe place to watch…" He cracked his knuckles again and looked at Don Cos Senii. "I think it's time I had a little… 'heart-to-heart' with the boss…"

Senii grinned deviously. "Well… This should certainly be interesting…"

**To Be Continued**

---

_Lydia: What… What are you?_

_Roger: Nothing really special… I ate the Henka Henka no Mi!_

_Lydia: The Devil Fruit? You're more powerful than I thought!_

_Roger: Same with The Don here… Although he seems to know my weak points… This'll be interesting!_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: A Fight Between Leaders! The Price of Silence Compared to Nakama!**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

---

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait AGAIN! D: But here it is, and I should be updating regularly again! So, those watching my story can feel a sense of happiness again!

Sorry for the short chapter.

Review and all that, kay?


	7. Port Brill Arc Chapter 4

****

A/N: OK! I want to thank you all for reading my story, and I want you all to know that I always planned to continue it as well. When I returned from Japan, however I was greeted by a large amount of homework to catch up on! But I am back for the summer, so… Enjoy!

Now, on with the story!

--

****

Previously…

__

"Doesn't take a genius, Desi…" Roger pointed at the board. "This is why nobody's beaten Cos Senii!"

Desi looked more carefully at the wood. "It is?" He scratched his afro. "Uh… No one wanted to hurt the wood?"

Roger sighed. "No… This door should have been banged up at least once before we got here!" He looked to the now open door. "It's not that he hasn't been beat, it's that nobody's even tried before now!"

--

"You really think we can do it?" Roger asked.

"I do." She replied. "In fact, if you don't manage to win, I'd take my own life."

Desi jumped. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?!" He asked.

Roger laughed. "Alright, but what do we get if we win?"

"You're going along with this?!" Desi asked.

Lydia crossed her arms. "If you win, I'll join you guys… I'll be your cook, or something…"

--

He nodded. "Of course you don't! That's why I sent Itachi over to your place. Did he give you my message?"

"Yes, he did…" She pulled out her knife. "And then I gave him my message right back. He should be coming to any minute."

Senii blinked and took in a deep puff, burning up at least half of the cigar. "You're taking advantage of my patient nature, aren't you…" He pulled the cigar out of his mouth and put it out in his arm, twisting it out in the skin, leaving a burn mark. "I give you a whole year to pay what you owe, and I even give you a final chance at redemption…" He brought his arm back. "You're just spitting in my face now!"

--

The first thug pointed straight into the air. "My name is Key!"

The second thug pointed his thumb to himself. "My name is Goe!"

"And we're…" started Kay.

"The Key-Goe Bodyguard Squad!" finished Goe.

--

Desi flipped over and landed on his hands, rather than his feet. "**Super Finishing Move…**" Desi started moving his hands as to twist his vertically lifted body.

The bodyguards readied their swords. "Here it comes…"

"**Disuko Kenpou…**" Desi increased his tempo, spinning much more rapidly now.

The two thugs stuck their swords out, managing to knick Desi here and there, but not really stopping his speed.

Desi stretched his legs out to the side. "**Disco Inferno!**" A combination of blood and kicks flew from the spinning Desi mess, both of which hit each bodyguard multiple times.

--

"You find a safe place to watch…" He cracked his knuckles again and looked at Don Cos Senii. "I think it's time I had a little… 'heart-to-heart' with the boss…"

Senii grinned deviously. "Well… This should certainly be interesting…"

****

Port Brill Arc Chapter 4: A Fight Between Leaders! The Price of Silence Compared to Nakama!

Out of the six that were once amongst the two opposing forces, the Port Brill mob and Roger's crew, only three were left standing.

Lydia, the female, ex-assassin who was in it to fulfil her dreams.

Don Cos Senii, the leader of the thugs, who was in it for the money.

And Roger, the new pirate captain, who was in it to help Port Brill find their courage to stand up and fight again.

Two of Senii's thugs, Key and Goe, laid on the ground, unconscious from multiple kicks delivered by the third of Roger's party…

Desi Koe, the self-proclaimed Disco King, also laid on the ground, exhausted from fighting the aforementioned thugs.

The only sound heard between the two sides was the blowing wind, whistling through the empty streets of Port Brill.

Finally, Senii cracked his knuckles with a smirk. "Well… It seems like we've finally come down to this…"

Roger tilted his head from side to side, cracking his neck. "It seems…" He chuckled. "Just try to go easy on a kid like me, alright?"

The older man took out a cigar from his massive pocket and put it in his mouth, lighting it up. The smoke started to billow from it.

He walked up to Roger, sizing him up. Standing next to each other, it was obvious that Don Senii was at least one-and-a-half times the size of Roger. His arms were about as thick as Roger's torso and yet, even though it seemed that he had such an advantage over the smaller pirate, his expression was lacklustre to say the very least.

"Go easy? Why should I go easy on you?" He asked with a smirk, taking a quick puff of his cigar. "After all…" He pulled that day's newspaper from his back pocket. "According to this, you led the rebellion against a whole Marine base!" He took another look at the print. "Hell… Apparently, you even single-handedly took down the captain of the base!"

Lydia's eyes became wide as she listened. "What? That scrawny kid?" she asked, sounding shocked.

Roger gulped and chuckled. "Oh, you know… You can't believe everything you read!" he said nervously.

"Indeed…" Senii replied. "Say what you will, but I know more about you than you would want me to know…" He poked Roger in the shoulder. "For instance, your little 'family history', if you catch my meaning…"

"Don't poke me…" Roger said emotionlessly.

"You're not like the rest of us, are you, Zephyr?" He poked him again. "Your family, especially your father, helped you become who you are…"

"I said, don't poke me…" Roger said, raising his voice.

Senii grinned. "Oh, is my poking starting to get to you?" He poked again. "Or maybe it's the fact that I'm talking about the one person you want to hear about the least…"

Roger's arm grew huge and he swung at Senii, hitting him square in the jaw. "God dammit you piece of shit! I said stop it!" he yelled furiously.

Don Senii was sent flying as Lydia sat there, watching. Her jaw dropped, surprised at not only the hit, but the manner in which he was hit.

Roger's arm returned to normal. "I warned you…"

Senii got up and brushed himself off. "I've only read of your power…" He grinned deviously. "But now that I've felt it for myself… I can see that I don't have much to worry about!"

"What the hell are you?" Lydia asked Roger loudly.

"I ate the Henka Henka no Mi… The devil fruit!" Roger replied, not looking back at her. "Now I can do things like that…"

Lydia was rendered speechless. She couldn't find anything to say to that. All she could do was watch the events that were about to unfold.

Don Senii approached Roger. "So, tell me… Are you hungry?"

Roger blinked. "Uh… What?"

The large man pulled a book out of his other front pocket. "This is a guide to every devil fruit. When reading the paper, I thought I recognized your little ability, so I looked it up. Sure enough it was in here… Weaknesses and all…"

"Uh oh…" was all that roger could come up with.

"The change process of the Henka Henka no Mi's power involves the manipulation of every cell in the body… Which leaves the body drained of energy and nutrients afterwards… You see where I'm going with this?"

Roger blinked. "Uh… I was never really good with science stuff…"

Senii chuckled. "It means you can't go too long without needing a snack or something…" He cracked his knuckles one last time. "So, we might as well make this quick…"

"I was thinking the same thing…" Roger said with a hesitated and scared tone.

Senii charged at the pirate captain and through a fist, which Roger dodged easily. Senii punched at him again, and Roger dodged again.

Roger chuckled. "Is that it? Is this the whole fight?" He snickered a little. "I might not even have to use my 'little ability'!"

"We'll see…" Senii said looking at him. He reached into his pocket. "I've trained everyone who works for my organization, Zephyr… I think I know how to fight pretty well…" He pulled out a small pellet and threw it at the ground, releasing a large cloud of smoke.

Both Lydia and Roger were blinded and couldn't see where Senii had left to.

Suddenly, there was a loud cry coming from all angles.

"**1000 Beri Crash!**" Roger turned around and was taken down by Senii's large shoulder, smashing into his rib cage.

He fell to the ground as the Don walked up to him. "Rule number one of assassination, lull your prey into a false sense of security." He grabbed the younger boy's collar and lifted him up as the smoke started to clear. "Rule number two… Make the job as efficient as possible…" He slammed his fist into Roger's gut, causing Roger to cough up some blood. "Then there's rule number three…" He looked to Lydia. "And that would be…?" He said, waiting for Lydia to respond.

She just sat there, staring in horror, watching the boy she put all her hopes into being beaten up.

"The answer is, 'leave no witnesses'!" Senii exclaimed, throwing Roger at Lydia with high velocity.

Roger cringed. "This is going to hurt…" he said with a gulp.

He took in a deep breath and stretched his arms out sideways. "**Henka Henka no Chute!**" With that, Roger's torso expanded, becoming long and less thick, much like a parachute. He was caught in the wind and managed to slow down before making contact with Lydia. His body returned to normal and he fell to the ground.

Cos Senii grinned, taking a puff from his cigar. "Well, well… Smart move… But that was a very large change, not too mention that it was right after a brutal beating…"

He charged at the pirate. "You must be quite tired and vulnerable right now!"

Roger got up. "Maybe…" He put up a guard with one arm. "**Henka Henka no Massive Right!**" The arm grew twice it's normal size and managed to block Senii's charge. He pushed the larger man back, keeping him away. "That doesn't mean I'm going to stop fighting…" He snickered. "I'm not some loser who'll just sit by when he's tired!"

Senii spit to the ground. "Little brat…"

--

Roger started to ff and puff, breathing deeply from exhaustion.

Lydia looked at him. "Roger, are you alright?"

Roger smirked. "It's the weirdest thing, you know?" He looked at her. "Even after five years, I'm still not used to the stress this stupid fruit puts on my body…"

He looked across from him. The larger man stood there, just looking at him, waiting for his next move.

"And I still have to hit him for real… He's got me at least twice… Solid hits too…" Roger raised one leg and stomped it to the ground. "Alright Senii… I think you'll get a… 'Kick' out of this!" His legs started to tense. "**Henka Henka no Muscle Leg!**"

Suddenly, Roger's legs became very toned and muscular. He smirked and ran up to Cos Senii. It appeared that this new change made him much more quick. "Hyah!" He threw a kick at the larger man's side.

The kick made contact, but you wouldn't be able to tell from Senii's expression. "Oh boy…" Roger said, knowing what was coming up next.

The Don laughed and grabbed Roger's leg and pulled it off his side. He grabbed hold of it with both arms and he started to spin. Soon, it looked like Senii was making a small tornado. "**10,000 Beri Toss!**" The Don let go of Roger and he flew into the brewery's walls, causing the building to collapse on him.

Dust flew from the now broken down building and the Don just smirked. "I win…"

Lydia gasped as a tear came to her eye. She didn't want to believe it, but the worst case scenario had just become the reality.

Senii turned to her and lit up another cigar. "Well… It seems you are out of luck…" He walked towards her and clenched his fist. "You failed to pay the price for my silence and even conspired to take me down… I'm afraid-"

"HRAGH!" came a sound from behind the Don.

He stopped and turned around. "What… Was… That…?" He asked angrily.

The rubble that had fallen on top or Roger started to shake. Suddenly, the wooden mess was thrown high into the air, from a forceful push by the man himself, Roger Zephyr. He stood there, with what appeared to be a chicken leg in his mouth.

"What the hell?" Lydia asked loudly, her voice sounding confused and happy at the same time.

"Crap…" Senii stroked his chin. "I must have thrown him into my dining room… You three started to intrude just as I was sitting down to dinner."

Roger ate the whole thing, bone and all. "Lucky me…" He stuck his tongue out. "Nyeh! Lydia makes WAY better food than that crap!"

Senii clenched his fists. "Looks like we're not done here…"

"Not by a long shot!" He pointed to his legs. "See these? My muscle legs stay for about ten minutes before I lose the use of them for about a half hour… So let's just finish this up!"

"Agreed. The longer I battle the son of the pirate Solomon, the less time I have to-"

"Stop mentioning that ass!" Roger charged at Senii.

This time, the Don was ready for Roger's speed boost. "**100,000 Beri Cross!**" Senii trusted his arm out.

When Roger approached, he brought the arm back and slammed his bicep into the side of his head, causing Roger to topple over to the ground, coughing up more blood.

"Make it quick? I can definitely do that… Especially when I know how to push your buttons…" He bent down to the incapacitated Roger on the ground. " I have eyes and ears all over this place! Everyone in this town works for me!" He walked over to the former brewery. "Hell, even Lydia is just an employee to me! Once I get that million beri out of her, she'll be worthless to me!" He climbed onto a highly built pile of rubble. "Now… It's time to finish this!" He jumped off the pile and flew towards Roger. "**Finishing Move! One Million Beri Crush!**" He extended his limbs and started to fall to the ground, about to slam on Roger.

"Worthless?" Roger asked angrily. He lifted his legs in the air and Senii landed on them. His torso managing to balance on the bottom of Roger's feet.

"You see, that's the difference between you and me Senii…" Roger started.

"Wha… What the hell is this?!" Senii asked confused, afraid to move.

"You said that Lydia… Hell, I bet everyone you know is worthless to you…" He thrusted his legs upwards, causing Senii to fly high in the sky.

Roger groggily got up to his feet and jumped to the top of a nearby building using his muscular legs. He then proceeded to muscle jump off there, managing to rise even above the Don.

Lydia could only watch the action going on high above her head.

Roger continued to speak. "But to me… Everyone that is close to me… My nakama… They are the opposite of worthless…" He grinned and chuckled, his angry tone suddenly gone, knowing that the end was near. "They are priceless!" He tucked his legs in and started to spin in the air.

"What are you…" Senii asked, finally sounding scared.

Roger chuckled one last time! "I am the man ho will become the Pirate King!" He poked a thumb into his own chest "And I'm ending this right now! Not just for Lydia, but for everyone!" He said, still spinning. "**Super Finishing Move! Henka Henka no…**" He stopped spinning by thrusting his feet into the Don's back, launching towards the ground.

Suddenly, Roger's feet grew twice their normal size and weight. "**… Lead Foot!**" With that, Roger found himself falling to the Earth as well, feet first. He caught up with Senii, launching his feet into Senii's back again.

Soon, they both crashed to the ground and a large cloud of dust arose from the impact.

"Roger!" Lydia exclaimed. The cloud approached her and she covered her eyes. "Damn it! What the hell happened?"

The dust was very acrid, and would not let up until about five minutes after the impact. However, it did clear up to reveal a large crater in the middle of the road.

Lydia approached the hole and looked in. "R… Roger?" She asked quietly.

She looked in and gasped at the sight.

Don Cos Senii laid on his stomach, completely knocked out, bruised and bleeding from the major impact. Roger however was sitting on his back and smiled weakly up at the chef. "Think you can help me out?" He asked with a chuckle.

Tears of happiness started to fill Lydia's eyes. However, she tried to maintain her "tough girl" act. "Can't you get out yourself?"

Roger shook his head with a smile. "Nah, it's been ten minutes… My legs are shot…" He started to laugh. "And it seems like the big boy was right… It takes way too much energy… To… Fight… Like that…" Roger then fell backwards, eyes closing.

Lydia gasped, but soon chuckled when she heard a certain sound coming from his mouth.

"Damn kid snores in his sleep!"

****

To Be Continued

--

__

Lydia: Well.. I made a promise! Looks like I'm your new chef!

Desi: That's great… But little good it'll do us… This tiny boat doesn't have a kitchen.

Roger: It's ok, we can stay here a while longer, right?

Lydia: You understand that we're pirates in a port town, right? I doubt we'll manage now that your cover is blown!

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: The Crew has Three! The Problem is Getting Out!

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Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

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A/N: GAH! Again! Sorry for the wait! How long, like five months!

Sorry, I hope you all start reading again!

Reviewing would help me start up again please!


	8. Port Brill Arc Chapter 5

**A/N:** I want to make up for lost time, so I'm gonna try and spit these chapters out very quickly! But first, reviews;

**Justin Brett:** Thanks! I just try to imagine what it would look like if I was drawing it, instead of writing.

**Malchior The Draco:** It's good to see your name again! And if you like THAT finishing move, You should see what's coming up in the future!

**Vreck: **New faces are good too! Glad you liked the story from chapter two!

**Luda59:** Ah! My first fan! Great to see ya! And I just enabled anonymous reviews, so it's all good!

**kilnorc: **You didn't actually review, I'm just saying you're doing a good job on your crew's current story arc!

Now I feel like I should mention something. This section, starting next chapter will also be an SBS section as well as a place to reply to reviews! So go ahead and ask your questions!

Now, on with the story!

--

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Previously…

__

"I said, don't poke me…" Roger said, raising his voice.

Senii grinned. "Oh, is my poking starting to get to you?" He poked again. "Or maybe it's the fact that I'm talking about the one person you want to hear about the least…"

Roger's arm grew huge and he swung at Senii, hitting him square in the jaw. "God dammit you piece of shit! I said stop it!" he yelled furiously.

--

"What the hell are you?" Lydia asked Roger loudly.

"I ate the Henka Henka no Mi… The devil fruit!" Roger replied, not looking back at her. "Now I can do things like that…"

Lydia was rendered speechless. She couldn't find anything to say to that. All she could do was watch the events that were about to unfold.

--

"The change process of the Henka Henka no Mi's power involves the manipulation of every cell in the body… Which leaves the body drained of energy and nutrients afterwards… You see where I'm going with this?"

Roger blinked. "Uh… I was never really good with science stuff…"

Senii chuckled. "It means you can't go too long without needing a snack or something…" He cracked his knuckles one last time. "So, we might as well make this quick…"

"I was thinking the same thing…" Roger said with a hesitated and scared tone.

--

"The answer is, 'leave no witnesses'!" Senii exclaimed, throwing Roger at Lydia with high velocity.

Roger cringed. "This is going to hurt…" he said with a gulp.

He took in a deep breath and stretched his arms out sideways. "**Henka Henka no Chute!**" With that, Roger's torso expanded, becoming long and less thick, much like a parachute. He was caught in the wind and managed to slow down before making contact with Lydia. His body returned to normal and he fell to the ground.

--

"And I still have to hit him for real… He's got me at least twice… Solid hits too…" Roger raised one leg and stomped it to the ground. "Alright Senii… I think you'll get a… 'Kick' out of this!" His legs started to tense. "**Henka Henka no Muscle Leg!**"

Suddenly, Roger's legs became very toned and muscular. He smirked and ran up to Cos Senii. It appeared that this new change made him much more quick. "Hyah!" He threw a kick at the larger man's side.

The kick made contact, but you wouldn't be able to tell from Senii's expression. "Oh boy…" Roger said, knowing what was coming up next.

The Don laughed and grabbed Roger's leg and pulled it off his side. He grabbed hold of it with both arms and he started to spin. Soon, it looked like Senii was making a small tornado. "**10,000 Beri Toss!**" The Don let go of Roger and he flew into the brewery's walls, causing the building to collapse on him.

--

"You said that Lydia… Hell, I bet everyone you know is worthless to you…" He thrusted his legs upwards, causing Senii to fly high in the sky.

Roger groggily got up to his feet and jumped to the top of a nearby building using his muscular legs. He then proceeded to muscle jump off there, managing to rise even above the Don.

Lydia could only watch the action going on high above her head.

Roger continued to speak. "But to me… Everyone that is close to me… My nakama… They are the opposite of worthless…" He grinned and chuckled, his angry tone suddenly gone, knowing that the end was near. "They are priceless!" He tucked his legs in and started to spin in the air.

--

Roger chuckled one last time! "I am the man who will become the Pirate King!" He poked a thumb into his own chest "And I'm ending this right now! Not just for Lydia, but for everyone!" He said, still spinning. "**Super Finishing Move! Henka Henka no…**" He stopped spinning by thrusting his feet into the Don's back, launching towards the ground.

Suddenly, Roger's feet grew twice their normal size and weight. "**… Lead Foot!**" With that, Roger found himself falling to the Earth as well, feet first. He caught up with Senii, launching his feet into Senii's back again.

Soon, they both crashed to the ground and a large cloud of dust arose from the impact.

**Port Brill Arc Chapter 5: The Crew has Three! The Problem is Getting Out!**

Roger's eyes opened slowly. He looked around groggily, trying to figure out exactly where he was. After a while, he figured that where he laid seemed quite familiar.

"Ugh…" He groaned softly. He slowly sat up. "Where…" He looked around. "Lydia?… Desi…?"

Roger looked around again. Judging by the familiar pattern on the walls and the familiar aroma of food flowing into the room, he figured he was back at Lydia's house.

Desi poked his head in through the doorframe with a large smile. "Well, look who's finally awake!" He walked into the room. The ripped and bloody Marine's uniform he was wearing previously was now replaced with a tight-fitting, white disco suit, complete with purple sleeve, cuff and collar trimming. "How you feeling?"

"I'm alright…" Roger looked Desi up and down. "What happened to your clothes?"

Desi chuckled and put his hands on his hips. "You like? When I came to, my wounds were bandaged up, but my clothes were a complete mess!" He looked out the nearby window. "Around here, there's a little place that sells vintage clothing, and I managed to find this!"

"It looks a little snug…" Roger said, not really fully awake yet.

"Exactly!" the dancer replied. "And look!" He exposed a large, gold medallion from around his neck to Roger. "The guy at the store threw this in for free! He said he was glad someone finally took the outfit off his hands!"

Roger rolled his eyes. "I bet he was…"

Desi glared at Roger. "Watch it…"

The younger man grabbed his oval shades off the nightstand and placed them on the bridge of his nose. "Exactly how long was I asleep for?"

"It was still daylight when you finished that fight, apparently…" Desi started. "And it's not now… So…"

"So a couple of hours then." Roger finished. He ran a hand through his hair, still a little tired. Then, it dawned on him. He was able to run his fingers through his hair. "Where the hell is my bandana?"

"It was stained with blood." explained the nearby, female voice. Lydia stepped into the room as well. "It's in the wash and it'll be clean and dry by tomorrow morning." She lit the cigarette in her mouth and took a slow puff on it.

She then turned to Desi. "Food's ready by the way. Your plate is out in the kitchen." She turned to Roger. "I'll bring your plates to you in here." And with that, Lydia left the room.

Roger turned to Desi. "Plates? As in… Plural?"

Desi nodded. "Yeah, she seemed pretty eager to get cooking for you."

"She must be very grateful!" Roger exclaimed. "I mean, I did take down this island's biggest crime boss, after all!"

Desi chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure it's that… Oh, you'll see!" Desi then walked out of the room leaving Roger by himself.

"I wonder what he meant by that…"

Just then, Lydia rammed into the room, with trays of hot, steaming, and to be perfectly honest, very expensive looking dishes and meals.

She quickly laid them all on the bed and even some on the nightstand.

In total, there were about forty different dishes.

"What?!" Roger interjected. "What is all this Lydia?!"

Lydia bowed very low and raised her voice. "Sir! This is my test! You are my critic!" She took in a deep breath and gulped before speaking again. "If I am to respect myself as a cook in any organization, I have to earn my way in! These are my finest dishes!" There was a tense silence between the two for about a minute.

"Please! Eat and judge fairly, Captain!"

And with that, Lydia stayed in her bowing position. Roger was taken completely aback by the combination of the amount of dishes presented to him and Lydia's army-chef routine.

Roger let out a small chuckle.

And then it grew.

Eventually, it became a full laugh.

Lydia looked up at Roger and raised an angry eyebrow. "What the hell is so funny?"

"You are!" Roger answered plainly, still laughing. "I think it's hilarious that you feel the need to do all this!"

"I still have my pride!" Lydia exclaimed.

Roger's laughter died down. "Yes, yes, I understand…" He smiled widely. "But to think that you need your cooking to do all the impressing is just absurd!" He grabbed a fork and eyed every dish. "I want you because you're brave and you know what's right! That's all I need to know!" He speared a piece of meat with his fork and trusted it in his mouth. "But, it doesn't hurt that you cook like a god and could cut up anyone who says otherwise!"

Lydia just stared at Roger as he started to wolf down all forty dishes.

It was a rather disgusting display, but it was anticipated, especially after the large altercation earlier in the city.

He quickly finished all the food and laid back. "Man… That stuff was amazing!"

Lydia tilted her head and wondered how he could say that when it seemed as if he left no time to savor the food itself. However, she just shook her head with a chuckle, figuring that she would just have to get used to it.

"Thanks Roger…" She turned around and headed out of the room and closed the door behind her. She started to laugh. "Crazy kid will lead us to our death before we even hit the Grand Line!"

--

The next day, it seemed Roger, Desi and Lydia all decided to sleep in, tired from the previous day's activities.

However, Roger was the first one to get up.

He quietly snuck out of the house, as to not wake anyone up.

He walked into the streets, soon feeling the ease that was known as "morning".

"This is a nice place…" he said to himself as he walked around. "Nice, quiet… No longer inhabited by the mob…"

Just then, a loud commotion erupted from behind him.

Roger slowly turned around and raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

A rush of seemingly angry villagers was rushing towards the direction of the brewery. In all his curiosity, Roger decided to follow them. He heard little snippets of conversation between the villagers, like "I hear he was taken down!" and "Justice is finally being served!". Then, it dawned on Roger. These people weren't angry, they were happy!

"Wow… Way off base there…" Roger said to himself.

When the group finally arrived to the broken down old brewery, Roger saw that the Don, in all his former glory, still laid face down in the ground.

"You think he's dead?" asked one villager.

Roger snickered. "Nah…" He then approached Senii and felt his neck for a pulse. "Hmm… He's still alive… But barely!"

Everyone gasped as they watched Roger do this. The blonde pirate was shocked that, even under the circumstances, they were that scared of Don Cos Senii.

"Um…" Roger stuttered, looking out into the crowd. "Maybe someone should call the Marines, and have this guy picked-"

"How are you able to get so close to him?" One villager asked, cutting Roger off.

"Oh…" Roger said, looking back at the Don. "No big reason, really. I'm the one who did this to him!"

There was an uproar among the group. However, the same question seemed to get thrown around a lot during the uproar.

"Who the hell are you?"

Roger chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Aww! I'm no one special! Just your run of the mill pirate captain!"

Then, silence.

Complete silence between the villagers. All of them staring at Roger.

Eventually, an uproar began again.

"He's a pirate?!"

"And he took Senii down!"

"He's dangerous!"

"Someone! Call the Marines!"

"Lock him up! Throw away the key!"

Roger looked at the crowd and stroked his chin. "Maybe I should have kept that to myself…"

--

Desi and Lydia eventually woke up and started their menial, daily routines. Mostly involving the bathroom and the kitchen.

Roger walked back into the house, nonchalantly. "Hey guys…" he said, waving to them.

Desi turned to Roger. "Where were you?" He asked curiously.

"Just… you know… Out…" He shrugged. "Say, we should probably get going…" He said quickly.

Desi raised an eyebrow. "Go already? I haven't even eaten yet!"

Lydia came out of the kitchen. "Neither has he… What's going on? Why do you want to leave before a meal?"

Just then, a group of angry villagers approached Lydia's house.

"That's why…" Roger said, trying to sound innocent.

Angry exclamations could be heard from outside. Mostly just pirate bashing, and hurtful words. All basically conveying the message that pirates were not welcomed.

"What did you do Roger?" Desi asked angrily.

"He blew our cover, that's what he did!" Lydia said with a laugh.

"How can you laugh like that?! They want to kill us!" Desi explained loudly.

"I know! But I've had so many bad memories here…" She smiled happily. "I think this is the perfect way to make my exit!" She approached the door. "Get ready to run!"

Roger and Desi looked to each other, confusedly. "What…?"

Suddenly, using her massive army boot, Lydia kicked down the down to her own house, causing villagers to fly back.

While amazed by her strength, the men among the mob weren't exactly ready to fight back against a woman, no matter how manly she may be!

"Aw… Don't be like that!" Lydia said, grabbing her cigarette and jamming the lit end between one of the villager's eyes. "Never really cared for this cowardly village…" She looked back inside and gave them the signal to head to the ship.

Roger and Desi started to run out and headed to the harbour. "We're out!" exclaimed Desi, looking back.

Lydia nodded and, with a smile, elbowed a nearby villager in the gut. "Thanks for nothing, jerks!" And with that, she started running with the other two.

--

Much later, on their tiny boat, they floated farther away from land.

Roger couldn't stop laughing. "That was impressive Lydia! Way to get us out alive!"

Desi sighed. "Yeah… Just great… Assaulting villagers and running from the scene of the crime… Let's give the Marines more reasons to chase after us…"

Lydia puffed on her cigarette and looked out on the ocean. "I may not have been a pirate as long as you too, but there is one universal truth among all dangerous professions. 'Do what you can to survive another day'."

Roger nodded. "She's right! If she didn't do something, we'd probably be getting captured by the Marines right now, instead of in our lovely ship!"

Desi sighed. "Yeah… I guess…"

"Besides…" Roger continued. "Anything to get out of that stupid restaurant debt…"

Desi started to laugh, just remembering that this whole ordeal both started and ended with Roger's insane appetite.

--

Meanwhile, at Marine Base 107, a familiar female captain was just finishing up an interrogation with Don Cos Senii.

"So…" she started, smirking. "You say this blonde pirate was the one to take you down?"

The once proud down sat in his cell, his arms bound by seastone handcuffs. "Yes… That damned boy… Spouting out nonsense… Becoming the pirate king…" He looked up at her. "And the worst part is… He managed to finish it with a smile…"

The lady smiled herself. "A smile, you say… Sounds like a jolly guy…"

"Jolly… I'm sure he'd like to be called that even more than what his bounty poster said…" The Don found himself chuckling. "He seemed to hate it when I called him 'Son of Solomon'."

The woman nodded and stood up. "Alright then, Cos. I think we're done here." She started to walk away and headed to her quarters.

Once there, she closed the door and pulled out a Den Den Mushi.

She dialled a number and waited for someone on the other line to respond.

"Yes, hello? Marine HQ?" she asked. "Yes, this is Captain Ai of Marine Base 107... I just thought I should let you know, that it would be wise to keep an eye on a certain pirate… His name?…" She smirked before answering.

" 'Jolly' Roger Zephyr!"

--

__

Roger: Check it out! This drawing is coming to life!

__

Desi: What the hell is going on?

Roger: It seems like we're the only ones who don't know what's going on!

Desi: I just hope we can find a new ship before these scribbles manage to kill us!

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Picture Perfect! Dangerous Doodles Attack!

__

Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

**A/N: **Yeah, this chapter was mainly used as a device to get them off the island, and to introduce my originally planned nickname for Roger. I also wanted to remind everyone that Roger carries on the pirating spirit! Although he doesn't condone unnecessary violence, he will however use it if it means he can keep on pirating for another day!

Also, as previously mentioned, the area where I usually reply to reviews will become my very own SBS section/review reply area!

So now, instead of criticism, you can all ask questions about the series, no matter how silly they may be!

Review please!


	9. Doodle Arc Chapter 1

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A/N: Reviews/Questions!

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Malchior The Draco: Lydia IS pretty exuberant… And I guess Desi's taste in clothes DOES suck…

Desi: HEY!

Whoops… Runs away

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deathshark: A new name to add to my reviewers! Thanks for your kind words!

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Luda59: Thanks for the review… So you want to learn Disuko Kenpou?

The only way to learn it is go to your local movie store and rent Saturday Night Fever and Saturday Night Fever 2 (Yes, that IS a movie!). Watch both of them repeatedly until you memorize John Travolta's dance moves…

Or you could just punch a bunch of people at a discotheque… That'd work…

Now, on with the story!

--

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Doodle Arc Chapter 1: Picture Perfect! Dangerous Doodles Attack!

The gulls cawed above the small, previously Marine-owned ship. The ocean waves crashed gently against the side of it, moving it back and forth slightly. The sky, although partly cloudy, was mostly clear and blue. Yes, a perfect day for sailing…

For anyone who would just hush up and enjoy the day, that is.

Unfortunately, Desi and Lydia were not that kind of people.

"This is absolutely ridiculous…" Des I said, looking off the side of the boat. "We hardly got enough room for the three of us here…" He ran a hand through his large afro.

Lydia on the other hand, just gave a small "Pfft" and knocked on the wooden siding of the boat. "Doesn't matter what kind of 'ship' we got… We don't have any food! Or a kitchen for that matter!"

Desi nodded. "Right… What we need is a bigger, better ship… Something that wasn't borrowed from the people chasing us…" He pointed up to the sail that read "Marines".

Roger laughed. "Why are you so worried about the Marines catching us?" He sat up and looked at the other two. "Although, I do agree that we need a larger ship…" He stroked his chin. "And of course, I'd love to promise you guys we'll get one…" He laughed again. "But to be honest, I have no idea where the hell we're going!"

Lydia growled. "How can you not keep track of where you are?!" She turned to Desi. "Am I right?"

Desi chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well… I don't exactly know where we are either…"

The new pirate chef sighed and rubbed her temples. "This is really giving me a headache…" She pointed to Roger. "You! Listen! We need a new ship! We also need someone who knows there way around this damned ocean!"

Roger stroked his chin again. "You mean… Like a nalligator?"

Desi bopped Roger on the head. "I think YOU mean 'navigator'…"

"Oh… Right…" Roger looked away, knowing that he didn't exactly know what he was saying.

Lydia nodded. "Definitely. A navigator would probably be the best idea at this stage. Without one, we'll never get to the Grand Line!"

Roger started to snicker. "Then it's settled!" He pumped his fist in the air. "Next stop, a ship and new nakama!"

Giving up a cheer, the other two agreed, unknowingly floating aimlessly towards a nearby island.

--

An hour or two later, the crew had fallen asleep, due to exhaustion because of inactivity on a tiny boat.

Suddenly, the boat landed on a beach, crashing with a thud.

Roger and Lydia bolted awake. "What the hell was that?" Lydia said, in a somewhat scared tone.

Desi slowly and groggily woke up looking around. "What… Did we hit land?"

Roger jumped off the boat and landed on the sandy ground. "Ha! Yes!" He turned around and looked at the boat. "Uh oh…" Roger said with a gulp.

Lydia raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'Uh oh'?!"

He pointed to the boat. "Well… It seems that we've hit land… And we've hit it pretty hard…" Roger pointed out a boulder that they must have hit while landing, because in the hull of the boat, there was a large hole that was somewhat filled with water.

"Oh dear…" Desi mustered. He got out of the boat and examined the hole. He shrugged. "Well, nothing' we could do, baby!" He said, back to his old, carefree, disco self! "I mean, after all, we were going to get a new ship, right?" He said with a chuckle.

Lydia nodded. "Yeah… I guess…"

Roger started to clap. "Yay! Blessing in disguise!"

The female of the group got out of the boat as well and grabbed a bag that they had found in one of the barrels on the boat.

"Well, let's get a move on!" she said, starting to head off on her own.

Roger and Desi followed her. "What's with the bag?" Desi asked.

"This'll solve one of our three problems." She explained. "We're gonna fill this bag up with food so we can… Oh, I don't know… Eat for the next couple of weeks!"

Roger smiled. "I wouldn't worry too much about it! We made it this far without planning like that!"

The larger man looked to Roger. "Yeah, but you're forgetting that this is only our second week!"

"Hell, this is only my first week, and I'm not enjoying it very much!" Lydia added.

Roger sighed. "You guys have absolutely no faith! But, if you guys feel safer planning ahead, instead of having fun…"

Desi stopped for a second as they approached what appeared to be a road. There was a sign with a map of the island on it. "Guys, come look at this!" Desi beckoned.

As the other two joined him, Desi was starting to make mental notes.

"Apparently," Desi started. "this island is separated into two parts…" He pointed to one area. "This area here seems to be a town where people can access the ocean…"

Roger pointed to the other. "And this?"

"It seems to be a mining town." He tried to explain. "Mountains block it from the ocean, so it seems one would have to go through this town before getting there."

Lydia smirked. "We could use a miner, you know… A strong, young man to join the crew…" Lydia trailed off in her thoughts, letting out a sigh before get lost in her head.

Desi chuckled and nudged Roger. "Hey, no matter how manly she is, I guess she'll always be a woman!" He started to laugh.

Lydia then proceeded to promptly kick Desi in the head. "I heard that, ass for brains!"

Roger continued to look at the map while the other two fought. "Hmm…" He said to himself. "I don't know if we need a miner… But someone there might be good enough with their hands to build a ship…" He then looked at the other town. "And since this one is a port town, maybe we can find a navigator who knows the sea…"

Roger smiled and turned around and started to walk down the road, headed towards the port town. "First thing's first, though! Let's get something to eat!"

It took Desi and Lydia a minute to finally realize Roger left on his own. The quickly stopped fighting and headed down the road themselves, trying to catch up to Roger.

--

Soon, the crew found themselves in a local restaurant.

They had just finished eating, but not before setting a limit of one meal per person, mostly for Roger's sake. Gods forbid there'd be a repeat of the last island.

"I'm still hungry…" Roger complained.

"Tough." Desi replied. "We only have enough money for one meal a day!"

Lydia smirked. "But when we start plundering, I'm sure we'll have a lot of beri at our disposal!"

The blonde captain just stared blankly at Lydia. He titled his head and raised an eyebrow. "Plundering?" he asked.

Lydia bopped Roger on the head. "You don't know what that is?!" She sighed. "How did you think you guys were going to make money as pirates?!"

Roger shrugged. "I guess I would just wing it… I never really had a plan!"

"But, Lydia has a point Roger…" Desi said. "Without plundering, or at least robbing, there is no way were are going to make money!" He looked to Lydia. "However, we don't want to go off and just steal from anybody…" He stroked his chin. "How about, we only steal from other pirates or people who we fight!"

Lydia hesitated, but eventually nodded. "Alright, I can agree to that…"

Roger scratched his head. "I don't even know what's going on!"

Suddenly, a villager came crashing into the restaurant, almost destroying the door on the way in. "They're back!" he shouted. "Those damned drawings are back!"

"Again?!" exclaimed the proprietor from the back.

Lydia raised an eyebrow. "What's going on?"

Desi shrugged. "Sounds like… Some sort of graffiti problem…"

"Now I'm REALLY confused!" Roger said standing up. He headed to the door and looked outside. "Huh…" He said before returning to his seat. "What… That clears THAT up…" He said in a very relaxed tone.

The table sat in silence. Lydia and Desi just started at Roger. Both of them felt like they should asked what he was talking about, but soon, it would become clear.

Just then, the ceiling started to crumble. Bits of the roof fell into the building, exposing the sky. The cause seemed to be a large blue outline of a fist, pounding the roof in from the outside.

Lydia stared blankly at the fist. "Well… You don't see THAT everyday…"

Desi started to scream and freak out. "What the hell IS that thing?!" he yelled, grabbing on to the table tightly.

"Oh yeah." Roger said plainly. "Giant drawings are attacking the city." he explained monotonously.

"I see." Lydia replied.

The large, black pirate continued to freak out. He stared at the other two. "How can you to just sit there?!" he asked. "Why am I the only one scared?!"

Roger got up again. "I agree, we can't just sit here!"

"Thank you!" Desi replied.

Roger smiled and snickered. "We have to see some of these awesome drawings do other stuff!"

Lydia smiled and got up as well. "Agreed."

Desi slammed his head into the table and sobbed softly. "Why do I even try…"

--

Meanwhile, on the top of a local building…

A girl, no older than nine, sat quietly by herself, surrounded by coloring books, felts and papers with crudely drawn pictures on them.

She wore a baggy, blue, long-sleeved shirt and a pair of pink pants. She also wore a pink toque which hid her hair, with the exception of two, long, chestnut brown pigtails.

She looked up and saw her four drawings attacking the town, making sure no one was truly hurt.

"Soon…" She said softly. "They'll regret what they've done to me…" Her voice was soft and steady.

She stuck a finger in her mouth and pulled it out, all wet with saliva.

She traced the shape of a cookie, complete with chocolate chips. With every finger stroke or stab, the air would change blue, like a pen on a piece of paper.

She smiled. "**Vita.**"

With that, the cookie fell to the ground, the way a real cookie would.

She picked it up and started to munch on it.

****

To Be Continued.

--

__

Desi: This is all the work of a KID?!

Roger: Seems like it! And why does she have such a grudge?

Lydia: Does it matter? We just got to stop her!

Roger: Hold on… Let's figure some stuff out first.

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: The Secret Art! The Ezu Ezu no Mi Revealed!

__

Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

****

A/N: Short chapter, I know.

This chapter left such an open end. And I know what you're all thinking… But, you'll see exactly how this plays out!

Review and ask those questions please!


	10. Filler 1

Listen up Guys! Aniperve here!

Because of work, the new chapter won't be uploaded until Monday.

Until then, I got to ask YOU, the public, for questions about my story!

Question One:

Should Roger and the Crew go against a Shichibukai when they hit the Grand Line?

If yes, what makes him/her a Shichibukai?

Question Two:

Should the crew hit a winter, summer, spring or autumn island as their first stop on the Grand Line?

And lastly, Question Three:

Should the crew head to Skypeia?

Now, you'll understand if your answers won't influence my story too much, however, your answers do have much of a sway on me!

NOW, We come to a filler part of this document!

Here, I discuss characters that I would have used, but didn't!

****

Name: Nayko

****

Position: First Mate

****

Description: A girl who enjoys wearing a fake tail and ears, pretending to be a cat girl. Uses the same style of attacks as Captain Kuro.

****

Rejected Because: Insufficient back story. There was a lot of confusion while designing this character. Also, I didn't figure her to be strong enough as a first mate.

****

Name: Rose Marian Tyme

****

Position: Cook

****

Description: Bespectacled with long red hair. Wears fancy Victorian style dresses. Not a good fighter, but a good person. Fights using a frying pan.

****

Rejected Because: When planning out this story, I could not think of one interesting thing for her to do, mostly because of her fighting style and cowardice. I found myself copying Usopp's Sogeking routine.

****

Name: Hogun

****

Position: Unconfirmed

****

Description: Hot headed fighter. Alcoholic. Mostly bald, except for a large lock of hair sticking straight up on his head. His body is supplied with enormous supplies of technologies as his blood was replaced with beer. He built flamethrower like apparatuses all over his body.

****

Rejected Because: His body got much too confusing. A lot to do with the transfer of oxygen through the blood, or rather lack there of. Also, he seemed to parallel Ace a bit too much.

****

Name: Jones Zephyr

****

Position: Doctor

****

Description: A kind young man. He ate the Hiken Hiken no Mi, a Logia fruit that makes him "light". He fights with that power and a large rapier that resembles a needle. Older brother to Roger

****

Rejected Because: Stupid character. Axed him right away.

****

Name: Nail

****

Position: Inventor/Cabin Boy

****

Description: A young man, about Roger's age. He was raised in the jungle, where he learned how to manipulate the power of nature and capture it in rock containers that he called "Rocks", however, because of his broken speech, he pronounced it "Locks". He fights with a baseball back created by a character to show up in the future, which, when a Lock is inserted into it, the bat is imbued with a different power.

****

Rejected Because: It's friggin Tarzan with a baseball bat and a different version of Dials. What do you think.

Some rejected crew characters show up later in the story, so, when they show up, I'll give you the heads up.

If anyone liked the above characters, tell me, so maybe I can put them in somehow.

That's all for this filler chapter, see you all on Monday!


	11. Doodle Arc Chapter 2

**A/N:** Reviews/Questions!

**kilnorc:** Thanks for the positive comments. Criticism is also appreciated

**Malchior The Draco: **A SPANKING?! Call child services! You are a naughty man!

**Luda59:** They are coming out pretty quick

As for your question, do you really think I can answer that?

**Kyuuki-sama: **These three are good, but there are some characters coming up that I think you'll like more!

**Justin Brett: **This is why I said "Wait" because it'll get better the more you know about it. Just give it time!

**Dancing Nightmare:** Ah yes! Another new name, how good! And thanks for your input.

To answer your question, they run through the same timeline as Luffy, because we all know Luffy is going to find One Piece! So if it was after, nothing to do, I guess.

Now, on with the story!

--

****

Previously…

__

"This is absolutely ridiculous…" Des I said, looking off the side of the boat. "We hardly got enough room for the three of us here…" He ran a hand through his large afro.

Lydia on the other hand, just gave a small "Pfft" and knocked on the wooden siding of the boat. "Doesn't matter what kind of 'ship' we got… We don't have any food! Or a kitchen for that matter!"

--

__

The new pirate chef sighed and rubbed her temples. "This is really giving me a headache…" She pointed to Roger. "You! Listen! We need a new ship! We also need someone who knows there way around this damned ocean!"

Roger stroked his chin again. "You mean… Like a nalligator?"

Desi bopped Roger on the head. "I think YOU mean 'navigator'…"

"Oh… Right…" Roger looked away, knowing that he didn't exactly know what he was saying.

Lydia nodded. "Definitely. A navigator would probably be the best idea at this stage. Without one, we'll never get to the Grand Line!"

Roger started to snicker. "Then it's settled!" He pumped his fist in the air. "Next stop, a ship and new nakama!"

Giving up a cheer, the other two agreed, unknowingly floating aimlessly towards a nearby island.

--

__

He pointed to the boat. "Well… It seems that we've hit land… And we've hit it pretty hard…" Roger pointed out a boulder that they must have hit while landing, because in the hull of the boat, there was a large hole that was somewhat filled with water.

"Oh dear…" Desi mustered. He got out of the boat and examined the hole. He shrugged. "Well, nothing' we could do, baby!" He said, back to his old, carefree, disco self! "I mean, after all, we were going to get a new ship, right?" He said with a chuckle.

Lydia nodded. "Yeah… I guess…"

Roger started to clap. "Yay! Blessing in disguise!"

--

__

"Apparently," Desi started. "this island is separated into two parts…" He pointed to one area. "This area here seems to be a town where people can access the ocean…"

Roger pointed to the other. "And this?"

"It seems to be a mining town." He tried to explain. "Mountains block it from the ocean, so it seems one would have to go through this town before getting there."

--

__

Roger continued to look at the map while the other two fought. "Hmm…" He said to himself. "I don't know if we need a miner… But someone there might be good enough with their hands to build a ship…" He then looked at the other town. "And since this one is a port town, maybe we can find a navigator who knows the sea…"

Roger smiled and turned around and started to walk down the road, headed towards the port town. "First thing's first, though! Let's get something to eat!"

--

__

Lydia smirked. "But when we start plundering, I'm sure we'll have a lot of beri at our disposal!"

The blonde captain just stared blankly at Lydia. He titled his head and raised an eyebrow. "Plundering?" he asked.

Lydia bopped Roger on the head. "You don't know what that is?!" She sighed. "How did you think you guys were going to make money as pirates?!"

Roger shrugged. "I guess I would just wing it… I never really had a plan!"

"But, Lydia has a point Roger…" Desi said. "Without plundering, or at least robbing, there is no way were are going to make money!" He looked to Lydia. "However, we don't want to go off and just steal from anybody…" He stroked his chin. "How about, we only steal from other pirates or people who we fight!"

--

__

Just then, the ceiling started to crumble. Bits of the roof fell into the building, exposing the sky. The cause seemed to be a large blue outline of a fist, pounding the roof in from the outside.

Lydia stared blankly at the fist. "Well… You don't see THAT everyday…"

Desi started to scream and freak out. "What the hell IS that thing?!" he yelled, grabbing on to the table tightly.

"Oh yeah." Roger said plainly. "Giant drawings are attacking the city." he explained monotonously.

--

__

"Soon…" She said softly. "They'll regret what they've done to me…" Her voice was soft and steady.

**Doodle Arc Chapter 2: The Secret Art! The Ezu Ezu no Mi Revealed!**

Roger and Lydia slowly walked out of the restaurant and looked around. Whatever attacked the restaurant was gone now.

"Desi, the coast is clear. You can come out!" Roger shouted back into the restaurant.

The larger pirate slowly stuck his head out with a gulp. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

Lydia turned to Roger. "Why did you even let him on your crew?"

Desi stepped out and wiped his brow. "Well, excuse me for caring whether I live or not!"

Roger shrugged. "Alright, you're excused, I guess." He looked around. "Looks like the attacks are dying down. When I checked before, there were about four of these massive drawings attacking the city." He looked around one last time. "Now that I look again, I don't even see one!"

Lydia sighed. "It's weird though… You said 'drawings'?"

The blonde nodded. "Yeah… It was like… Two-dimensional outlines were attacking…"

"You realize that doesn't make any sense, right?" Desi asked Roger rhetorically.

Roger nodded and looked around once more. "Looks like only a few buildings were beat up…" He stroked his chin. "This is weird…"

Lydia took a drag on her cigarette. "How do you figure?"

"I know what he means." Desi interrupted. "Someone or something went out of their way to attack the village… As weird a way as it was."

"Right. However, the damage seems… Minimal, you know?"

Lydia sighed. "Who the hell cares? It's over now, and we had a plan, let's follow it!" Lydia said in an authoritative voice.

Desi gulped and nodded. "Alright!"

The two older pirates started to walk away, looking for more populated areas.

Roger, however, stood there, looking at the city, seemingly looking for something. He scanned the ground and the sky.

"C'mon Roger!" called Lydia.

Roger jumped a little and turned to her. "Oh! Right!" He quickly caught up with the other two.

All the while wondering if he had actually glimpsed the sight of someone on a nearby rooftop.

--

Later, the crew found themselves in a local outdoor market. The place was crowded and filled with sailors and pirates as it was just off the harbour. The smell of freshly caught fish and salt water lingered in the air.

Desi looked around. "Jeez! Look at all these people!"

"Yeah!" Lydia said with a smirk. "So many! We'll definitely find a navigator here, somewhere!"

The black pirate stroked his chin. "And we can stock up on supplies too! This is amazing! Isn't that right, Roger?"

Roger stood there blankly, in thought.

"Roger?" Desi asked again.

Roger was jolted out of his thought and was brought back into reality. "Oh, hm?" He nodded. "Yeah, sure!" He looked around. "Boy, there are a lot of people here!"

Desi chuckled. "That's right, and if we're lucky, we can find someone to join our crew!"

Roger scratched his head. "Yeah, but… Why limit ourselves to just here?"

Lydia and Desi noticed that Roger was speaking in his normally overenthusiastic tone.

"What… What do you mean?" Lydia asked, a bit shakily.

"Well, we got this whole town, right?" Roger started. "But we're just going to stay here in the market? That doesn't seem right."

"So what do you suppose we do?" Desi asked.

Roger pointed to Lydia. "Lydia, you head down to the harbour, try and get someone right off a boat." He turned his attention to Desi. "And you, stay here. If you can't find anyone, at least you can pick up supplies!"

Lydia pulled out a cigarette. "Then, what will you do?"

"I'm going back into town…" He turned around and started walking back towards the buildings. "There's something I gotta check out."

And with that, Roger headed off.

"What do you think that was about?" Lydia asked, turning to Desi.

"Just a hunch, but it's probably something that has to do with food…" Desi said, shaking his head.

The two then parted ways, agreeing to meet back in an hour.

--

Roger walked through the streets of the town, noting some of the damage along the way.

He looked one way and noticed a caved in roof.

And, looking the other way, he saw a wall smashed in.

In all this wanton destruction, there seemed to be a careful, meticulous organization to this mayhem.

The only proof he had to back up this claim was the fact that none of the actual villagers were physically harmed.

"Why attack a village if you didn't intend to harm anyone?" Roger asked himself. "And who the hell could have done this?"

Just then, Roger remembered what he had seen earlier.

__

All the while wondering if he had actually glimpsed the sight of someone on a nearby rooftop.

Roger adjusted his specs and looked around, trying to recognize the building he saw earlier, about fifty feet away.

He looked over his shoulder, and with a smirk, simply said, "There you are…" He turned around and headed towards the building.

He looked up to the roof as he walked towards the building.

"Ready or not… Here I come…"

--

Lydia walked along the piers of the harbour, keeping an eye out for anyone seaworthy.

The cobblestone walkway was wet, as were the many wooden docks. Ships as far as the eye could see were docked at many different positions. People were walking in and out of town at different speeds. Chatter about the sea and different hearty adventures could be heard from all different directions.

"Sounds like I can't even through a rock without hitting someone who doesn't know the ocean!" Lydia said with a chuckle.

Suddenly, one ship caught her eye. It was a large ship, finely decorated. From the looks of it, someone very important and rich owned this ship.

"There, done docking!" came a cheery voice from the deck of the ship.

Lydia raised her eyebrow and approached the ship. A plank was extended from the deck to the dock, and on it stepped a young woman, about nineteen years old. She wore a revealing, long-sleeved red top that exposed her shoulders, with what appeared to be a loaded gun holster over the left breast, as well as a denim mini-skirt and a belt that had two more loaded holsters. Over her right shoulder was a sling that held a shotgun across her back.

"Hm…" Lydia started. "You really need all those firearms?"

The lady looked at her, pulling the plank down onto the dock. "Frankly, I don't see how it's any of your business!" she replied with a smile.

Lydia shrugged. "Good point…" She looked back at the ship. "Nice ship you got… How long have you owned it?"

The woman shrugged. "Not too long."

"So what, a week? A month?" she asked.

"Nah, about an hour." The other woman stretched her arms up into the air.

"Oh… I see…" Lydia smirked a little, taking a drag from her cigarette.

"I'm not sure if I enjoy this whole sailing thing, though." She started. Suddenly, she turned to Lydia. "You looking for a ship?"

Lydia raised an eyebrow, but answered truthfully anyways. "Yeah… Actually, I am…"

"Let's talk!" The other woman said, almost hearing the sounds of a cash register go off in her head.

--

Desi continued to walk through the market place, eyeing the different good that each vendor was selling. He also eyed every person that walked by, seeing if they seemed up to the task of seafaring.

"Hmm… How to start…?" he asked himself.

Just then, one person in particular caught his eye.

He was dressed in very elegant, yet tattered clothing. He seemed injured, but not too much so. Almost enough to insinuate that he could take a hint, despite the limp he was walking with.

"Hmm… I wonder…" Desi stroked his chin.

The afro pirate walked over to him. "Excuse me, sir?" he said.

The man jumped and looked over his shoulder. "Ah!" He started to pant heavily. "Oh, sorry… I'm just a little jumpy…"

Upon closer inspection, Desi could see that this man was clean-faced and clean-shaven, yet his eyebrows seemed to be a bit too full and bushy.

"How can I help you, young man?" the man asked.

Desi cleared his throat. "Oh well, the thing is… I'm not a 'young man'! In fact, I'm twenty-six, and a very seasoned sailor to boot…" He chuckled. "But of course that's beside the point!"

"I figured…" the other man said sarcastically.

"You see…" Desi started. "I'm the first mate on a pirate crew and I was wondering… Do you know your way around the oceans?"

The man smiled. "Well, just about… I still need to know things about the Grand Line, but basically, yes!"

Desi smiled. "And, do you have any experience on the ocean?"

"As a matter of fact…" the other man said with a chuckle. "I did own a ship, just until an hour ago actually! It was hijacked by pirates, nothing I could do by myself."

"So… Do you think you could navigate if asked to?"

The man nodded. "I believe I could…" He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask, young man?"

Desi smiled and put a hand on the man's shoulder. "Let's talk!"

--

Roger looked up to the building top. "So… Is what I'm looking for up there?"

He cracked his knuckles. "Let's just see…" Roger then started to swing his right arm high above his head, gaining velocity with each swing. "**Henka Henka no…**"

Roger then extended his arm, making it thin and rope-like. His hand stayed the same, whereas his fingers became sharp and thick. "**Grapple…**"

He managed to latch on the roof, and with a smile, he pulled on his arm and we started to fly upwards. "**and Retract!**" And with that, Roger landed on the roof with a slam.

"Here we are…" He looked around and noticed that the only things on the roof were coloring books, papers and felts. "What the hell…?"

Suddenly, a door opened from behind him. Roger turned around, towards the building access door and saw a young girl, wearing a pink toque. "Huh?" He walked over to her.

She, however, seemed frightened that there was someone else on the roof.

She was more frightened, though, of what was coming up behind her.

It was a voice that yelled up the stairs. "I swear! If you're up on that roof again, you are going to be in so much trouble!"

--

Later, Roger was inside the building sitting at a table with an older, rounder lady, while the girl from before sat sulking, facing the corner of the room.

"I'm sorry about this, Mr…" said the lady, looking for a name.

"Uh… Just call me Roger…" said Roger.

The lady nodded. "And you can call me Rosalind!"

"It's a pleasure!" the other said with a smile.

Rosalind sighed and looked to the girl. "I'm sorry about her. Whenever she's on the roof, she's always making mischief!"

"How so?" Roger asked.

"Well…" Rosalind started. "Maybe it's best if I start from the beginning…" She looked to the girl again. "Many people look at a painting in a museum or something and, through the colors and vibrancy, it seems that the painting has come to life…"

"Mhm…" Roger stroked his chin. "That's actually why I'm here… Can you tell me what attacked the village earlier today… Some sort of drawing assault…"

"I was getting to that…" The woman continued. "It's almost fitting, though… This girl here has a power that's only limited by her imagination…"

"Power…?" Roger asked. "Wait… You don't mean…"

"I do…" Rosalind looked back at Roger. "The power to actually make drawings come to life… The Ezu Ezu no Mi! _(**A/N:** Ezu is Japanese for drawing)_"

****

To Be Continued.

--

__

Roger: A young girl… With the power of the devil fruit?!

Lydia: Well, on the bright side, we've got a ship!

Desi: And a navigator!

Roger: Yeah… But it seems like she's got a story…

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Two out of Three! The Orphan with No Name!

__

Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

**A/N:** Review!


	12. Doodle Arc Chapter 3

****

A/N: Because of work and a special three day camp thing, I wasn't able to finish this chapter last week! I'm sorry! I must commit hara kiri to regain my honor! grabs knife thrust at stomach **Tekkai** knife breaks Oh… Well…

Reviews and Questions all around!

****

kilnorc: Thanks, your approval is great! grabs a broom Now, you kids stop fighting in my reviews! Go on! Git!

****

Malchior The Draco: Ack! Not another one! waves broom Shoo! Shoo!

****

Luda59: Oh, you'd think that… But you'd be wrong.

And as for your question… Not even I know… The only person who would know is Roger… But I think he's too stupid to understand…

****

deathshark: Thanks… Wait, fish-men? Hmm… Maybe… I know they'll meet at least one, who knows, maybe they'll join the crew, I'm not sure yet…

****

Justin Brett: None!

****

Dancing Nightmare: Hey! Good catch! And thanks for your review!

Now, on with the story!

--

****

Previously…

__

"Desi, the coast is clear. You can come out!" Roger shouted back into the restaurant.

The larger pirate slowly stuck his head out with a gulp. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.

Lydia turned to Roger. "Why did you even let him on your crew?"

Desi stepped out and wiped his brow. "Well, excuse me for caring whether I live or not!"

Roger shrugged. "Alright, you're excused, I guess." He looked around. "Looks like the attacks are dying down. When I checked before, there were about four of these massive drawings attacking the city." He looked around one last time. "Now that I look again, I don't even see one!"

--

__

Lydia sighed. "Who the hell cares? It's over now, and we had a plan, let's follow it!" Lydia said in an authoritative voice.

Desi gulped and nodded. "Alright!"

__

The two older pirates started to walk away, looking for more populated areas.

Roger, however, stood there, looking at the city, seemingly looking for something. He scanned the ground and the sky.

"C'mon Roger!" called Lydia.

Roger jumped a little and turned to her. "Oh! Right!" He quickly caught up with the other two.

All the while wondering if he had actually glimpsed the sight of someone on a nearby rooftop.

--

__

Later, the crew found themselves in a local outdoor market. The place was crowded and filled with sailors and pirates as it was just off the harbour. The smell of freshly caught fish and salt water lingered in the air.

Desi looked around. "Jeez! Look at all these people!"

"Yeah!" Lydia said with a smirk. "So many! We'll definitely find a navigator here, somewhere!"

--

__

Roger pointed to Lydia. "Lydia, you head down to the harbour, try and get someone right off a boat." He turned his attention to Desi. "And you, stay here. If you can't find anyone, at least you can pick up supplies!"

Lydia pulled out a cigarette. "Then, what will you do?"

"I'm going back into town…" He turned around and started walking back towards the buildings. "There's something I gotta check out."

And with that, Roger headed off.

--

__

Roger walked through the streets of the town, noting some of the damage along the way.

He looked one way and noticed a caved in roof.

And, looking the other way, he saw a wall smashed in.

In all this wanton destruction, there seemed to be a careful, meticulous organization to this mayhem.

The only proof he had to back up this claim was the fact that none of the actual villagers were physically harmed.

"Why attack a village if you didn't intend to harm anyone?" Roger asked himself. "And who the hell could have done this?"

--

__

Roger adjusted his specs and looked around, trying to recognize the building he saw earlier, about fifty feet away.

He looked over his shoulder, and with a smirk, simply said, "There you are…" He turned around and headed towards the building.

He looked up to the roof as he walked towards the building.

"Ready or not… Here I come…"

--

__

Lydia shrugged. "Good point…" She looked back at the ship. "Nice ship you got… How long have you owned it?"

The woman shrugged. "Not too long."

"So what, a week? A month?" she asked.

"Nah, about an hour." The other woman stretched her arms up into the air.

"Oh… I see…" Lydia smirked a little, taking a drag from her cigarette.

"I'm not sure if I enjoy this whole sailing thing, though." She started. Suddenly, she turned to Lydia. "You looking for a ship?"

Lydia raised an eyebrow, but answered truthfully anyways. "Yeah… Actually, I am…"

"Let's talk!" The other woman said, almost hearing the sounds of a cash register go off in her head.

--

__

"I was getting to that…" The woman continued. "It's almost fitting, though… This girl here has a power that's only limited by her imagination…"

"Power…?" Roger asked. "Wait… You don't mean…"

"I do…" Rosalind looked back at Roger. "The power to actually make drawings come to life… The Ezu Ezu no Mi!"

****

Doodle Arc Chapter 3: Two out of Three! The Orphan with No Name!

"Ezu Ezu no Mi?"

Roger sat their in Rosalind's office, brow raised, watching the person in front of him explain the extent of this young child's power.

Rosalind nodded. "Yes. It is a dangerous and powerful fruit, if put into the hands of someone with the slightest bit of darkness in their heart!"

"How so?" Roger asked, stroking his chin.

"Like I said before," she started. "This fruit can bring any drawing to life. That doesn't limit it to paper drawings." She looked to the girl. "One can even use bodily fluid to draw something in the air, making it come to life!"

Roger went wide-eyed. "Really? That sounds impressive!"

Rosalind sighed. "Impressive, maybe… But she's been using it to cause mayhem all over the town and with the other kids here!"

"Other kids?" asked Roger.

The woman got up and opened the door to the office, showing Roger the space outside the door.

Children ran all around the floor. Some played in the corner with various toys and other objects, others decided to play imaginary games with each other, in a land of make believe. All the while, the only adults that were around were Roger and Rosalind.

"Oh…" Roger started. "What is this, a daycare center or something?"

The older woman giggled. "No, nothing like that!" She approached one of the younger looking children and picked it up. She looked back to Roger with a hearty smile. "This is an orphanage. These children live here."

Roger stayed silent, now knowing what this place was, he didn't know what he could say. "I… Didn't…"

"Don't worry…" the elder woman tilted her head and smiled. "We don't have a sign out front, so we actually get a lot of people, not knowing what this place is!" She giggled and put the child down. "It's a common mistake."

Roger looked back into the room that they sat in before, mostly to check in on the girl from before. "So, she's…"

"Yup…" Rosalind nodded, walking back into the office and grabbed a file folder from her desk. "She has no one to take care of her, so she was sent here…" she sighed and closed the door, behind her, knowing that with the door open, the girl inside would here what was about to be said.

"About seven years ago, she was dropped off here," she started, opening and reading from the file. "Apparently, her father was a sailor of some sort who took on the role of a single parent. His wife died after reaching the Grand Line a year after the birth of her kid…"

"Wait, they took a child to the Grand Line?!" Roger asked loudly in disbelief. "And what was he doing bringing his wife and child to the see anyways?"

"He was a strong confident man, from what I can gather." she answered. "He knew that if he took them with him anywhere, they would be safe."

"Sounds more arrogant than confident, if you ask me!" Roger said, clenching his fist.

"He figured that out too." Rosalind continued reading from the file. "Once the wife passed on, he became extra careful. Soon, he figured that it wasn't safe at all for his baby girl." She pulled out a picture of a swirly, green fruit. "It became even more so when this was scattered amongst his ship's cargo. She ate it and gained its power, the Ezu Ezu no Mi!"

"What happened then?" Roger asked hastily. "I gotta know!"

"Well… It seems that after that, the father hightailed it back to the west blue and came here, to this island. Apparently, his wife had family here and asked them to take care of his daughter…" She sighed. "Unfortunately, she only became a nuisance to them. She was dropped off onto our porch one day and they left the island." She closed the file. "And that's her story, that we know of."

"That's so sad…" Roger started, looking down to the ground. "What's her name? I wanna talk to her…"

Rosalind looked at Roger, then back to the office door. She looked solemnly back at Roger and said simply, "I don't know."

Roger did a face fault.

"You don't know?!" he asked. "How can you not know after reading that huge file?!"

"Hold on, don't get all upset! Remember, she was just dropped off with us, we weren't given a form or anything. No note, letter… No identification of any kind!"

She headed towards the office door. "You are still free to talk to her, if you'd like."

She opened the door to the office and was shocked to see what she had just revealed.

There was a blue hole in the wall that was not there before, and the girl was no where in sight.

--

Desi and his new acquaintance headed over towards where Lydia and him said they would meet.

"I never did get your name young man!" The man pointed out.

Desi jolted in realizing his poor manners. "Oh, sorry! My name is Desi Koe, twenty-nine years old, pleasure to meet you!"

The man chuckled. "No need to be so polite! I mean, we are nakama now, right?"

Desi smirked. "There's a chance, I still have to talk you to see me captain!"

The other nodded. "Of course. Anyways, you can just call me Max for now!"

"Max!" Desi smiled. "Good to know!"

Just then, Desi caught sight of someone coming from the harbour. It was everyone's favorite army-print clad chef, Lydia.

"Well, I didn't find anyone to join the crew," she started, approaching Desi. "But I think you will be glad with what I did find!" She turned to the other man. "Who the hell is this?"

Max smiled and grabbed Lydia's hand and kissed it gently. "Well, you may call me Max. It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of a pretty woman, such as yourself!"

This resulted in a large lump, forming on top of Max's head.

"Yeah…" Desi said, chuckling. "Lydia doesn't exactly like being reminded that she's a woman…" He looked to Lydia. "And you, that's no way to treat a potential nakama!"

Lydia blinked. "This guy?" She scoffed. "You were actually considering someone whose eyebrows look like… That?"

Desi laughed. "Well, he has been sailing for a while! I assume he knows something about the sea!"

"Can he navigate?" Lydia asked bluntly.

Desi nodded. "Mhm! He's been everywhere, except for the Grand Line, but I'm sure we can find something to help us out along the way!"

Lydia stroked her chin. She bent down and gave the man a hand. "Considering our need for someone with your skills, I think I can safely say, 'Welcome aboard'!"

--

The girl sat on the roof once more.

This time, staying away from the idea of summoning monsters to create havoc.

Now she sat, just to think.

And to remember.

__

"Get Erin to the ship's doctor!"

"Why?"

"She's sick! Her fever is incredible!"

She sighed and looked off the edge of the building.

__

"She ate the Devil Fruit!"

"She's only one! How did she do it?!"

"I don't know, but we got to get her off the Grand Line!"

A tear started to roll down her cheek.

__

"I'm sorry, baby… This will only be temporary."

He kissed the young girl's forehead. "I'll be back for you, I promise!"

She started to sob uncontrollably.

__

"She's just a hassle!"

"But dear, she's my sister's kid!"

"I don't care! I want her out of this house!"

She finally broke down and started to make large, sad noises. Tears flowed endlessly as she found herself in another fit of uncontrollable sadness.

Suddenly, another's footprints were heard on the roof.

"Hey…"

She turned to the source of the voice.

It was our blonde-haired hero, Roger.

"I heard a bit of your story…" He approached her and sat down next to her.

She stayed silent.

"It's okay, you don't need to talk…" He looked straight forward, trying to avoid looking at her. "You know, we're not so different…"

She looked at him, still crying, but she tried to keep her noises to a minimum.

"We both ate the Devil Fruit when we were younger!" He said, stating one similarity. "But, the most important one, I think, if the fact that we're both orphans!"

She looked away. She hated that word. "Orphans".

"My dad left me too…" He sighed, looking to his feet. "But, he left me with a dream… And that's the dream that I'm going to follow until the very end…" He turned to her. "Do you have a dream?"

She sat silently.

"I bet you do. Everyone has a dream!" Roger explained. "The best way to achieve your dream is with people around you that care!"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I care… And you deserve better than this. I want to help you achieve your dream…"

"Will you become my nakama?"

--

Lydia, Desi and Max all walked into town together.

"Where is that idiot?" Desi asked, looking around. "He said he'd be back in town, but We can't find him at all!"

Then, as if on cue, Roger fell through the air, from the top of a building. It appears he was pushed by a big pair of blue arms.

"AHH! Catch me!" He yelled.

And then he landed on Desi, causing both of them to fall to the ground. Not a catch, but, it'll have to do.

"Where the hell have you been?" Lydia asked in a tone that would suggest that one did not just fall off a building.

Roger got up and brushed himself off. "Well, I just had to get to the bottom of today's attacks!" He helped Desi back up. "And what did you two do…" He looked to Man. "And who's this guy?"

"Well, at the harbour, I found a ship for us! It cost us the rest of our savings, but I think it was worth it!" Lydia exclaimed proudly.

"And at the market, I found this guy! His name is Max and he said he was willing to be our navigator!" Desi said with a smile.

"Hold on." Max interjected. "You said you figured out the cause of the attacks? Those weird monsters that attacked earlier today?"

Roger nodded.

Max paused for a second. "Could you tell me?"

--

Later, that evening, the three, Roger, Lydia and Desi, were setting up their room at the inn for the night.

"Why do we have to stay here?" Roger asked. "We have a ship now!"

"Max said he was going to make sure it hade the proper supplies before it sailed tomorrow." Desi explained.

"I'm surprised he volunteered! He seemed so… Out of it after you told that story about that girl…" Lydia mentioned. "I'm surprised that she refused to be our nakama! It sounded like those words came from the heart!"

"Yeah…" Roger sighed. "But we have a ship and a navigator, so I think, either way, things are starting to look up!"

Just then, as if on cue, a large boom noise came from the direction of the orphanage.

****

To Be Continued.

--

__

Roger: What the hell was that?

Desi: Let's get to the bottom of this!

Lydia: I don't think we're gonna like where this is going…

Roger: We''l just have to see!

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: True Identity Revealed! Leader of Twenty Ships!

__

Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

****

A/N: Review!


	13. Doodle Arc Chapter 4

**A/N:** Did somebody say "Reviews and Questions"? No? Well, too bad!

**kilnorc:** Bodily fluids, yes, but seeing as she is nine and innocent, please keep your mind out of the gutter! Geez, everyone here… --

**Malchior The Draco:** That's gotta be the sappiest thing I've ever heard from an OC… HAHA! Your OC has emotions! XD

**Luda59:** Man! You and kilnorc! Why are you two such idiots? KIDDING!

**deathshark:** I'm going to be honest, that was one of the original plans… But no…

**Justin Brett: **Actually, when I said "None", I meant they will have no weather based powers… I never said anything about no villains!

Now, on with the story!

--

****

Previously…

__

"Ezu Ezu no Mi?"

Roger sat their in Rosalind's office, brow raised, watching the person in front of him explain the extent of this young child's power.

Rosalind nodded. "Yes. It is a dangerous and powerful fruit, if put into the hands of someone with the slightest bit of darkness in their heart!"

"How so?" Roger asked, stroking his chin.

"Like I said before," she started. "This fruit can bring any drawing to life. That doesn't limit it to paper drawings." She looked to the girl. "One can even use bodily fluid to draw something in the air, making it come to life!"

--

"Oh…" Roger started. "What is this, a daycare center or something?"

The older woman giggled. "No, nothing like that!" She approached one of the younger looking children and picked it up. She looked back to Roger with a hearty smile. "This is an orphanage. These children live here."

Roger stayed silent, now knowing what this place was, he didn't know what he could say. "I… Didn't…"

"Don't worry…" the elder woman tilted her head and smiled. "We don't have a sign out front, so we actually get a lot of people, not knowing what this place is!" She giggled and put the child down. "It's a common mistake."

--

"About seven years ago, she was dropped off here," she started, opening and reading from the file. "Apparently, her father was a sailor of some sort who took on the role of a single parent. His wife died after reaching the Grand Line a year after the birth of her kid…"

"Wait, they took a child to the Grand Line?!" Roger asked loudly in disbelief. "And what was he doing bringing his wife and child to the see anyways?"

"He was a strong confident man, from what I can gather." she answered. "He knew that if he took them with him anywhere, they would be safe."

"Sounds more arrogant than confident, if you ask me!" Roger said, clenching his fist.

--

"Well… It seems that after that, the father hightailed it back to the west blue and came here, to this island. Apparently, his wife had family here and asked them to take care of his daughter…" She sighed. "Unfortunately, she only became a nuisance to them. She was dropped off onto our porch one day and they left the island." She closed the file. "And that's her story, that we know of."

"That's so sad…" Roger started, looking down to the ground. "What's her name? I wanna talk to her…"

Rosalind looked at Roger, then back to the office door. She looked solemnly back at Roger and said simply, "I don't know."

Roger did a face fault.

"You don't know?!" he asked. "How can you not know after reading that huge file?!"

--

Desi and his new acquaintance headed over towards where Lydia and him said they would meet.

"I never did get your name young man!" The man pointed out.

Desi jolted in realizing his poor manners. "Oh, sorry! My name is Desi Koe, twenty-nine years old, pleasure to meet you!"

The man chuckled. "No need to be so polite! I mean, we are nakama now, right?"

Desi smirked. "There's a chance, I still have to talk you to see me captain!"

The other nodded. "Of course. Anyways, you can just call me Max for now!"

"Max!" Desi smiled. "Good to know!"

--

"Yeah…" Desi said, chuckling. "Lydia doesn't exactly like being reminded that she's a woman…" He looked to Lydia. "And you, that's no way to treat a potential nakama!"

Lydia blinked. "This guy?" She scoffed. "You were actually considering someone whose eyebrows look like… That?"

Desi laughed. "Well, he has been sailing for a while! I assume he knows something about the sea!"

"Can he navigate?" Lydia asked bluntly.

Desi nodded. "Mhm! He's been everywhere, except for the Grand Line, but I'm sure we can find something to help us out along the way!"

Lydia stroked her chin. She bent down and gave the man a hand. "Considering our need for someone with your skills, I think I can safely say, 'Welcome aboard'!"

--

"My dad left me too…" He sighed, looking to his feet. "But, he left me with a dream… And that's the dream that I'm going to follow until the very end…" He turned to her. "Do you have a dream?"

She sat silently.

"I bet you do. Everyone has a dream!" Roger explained. "The best way to achieve your dream is with people around you that care!"

He put a hand on her shoulder. "I care… And you deserve better than this. I want to help you achieve your dream…"

"Will you become my nakama?"

--

"I'm surprised he volunteered! He seemed so… Out of it after you told that story about that girl…" Lydia mentioned. "I'm surprised that she refused to be our nakama! It sounded like those words came from the heart!"

"Yeah…" Roger sighed. "But we have a ship and a navigator, so I think, either way, things are starting to look up!"

Just then, as if on cue, a large boom noise came from the direction of the orphanage.

**Doodle Arc Chapter 4: True Identity Revealed! Leader of Twenty Ships!**

Desi and Lydia found themselves running after a very quick Roger.

"What the hell is going on?" Desi yelled, trying to make Roger overhear.

Lydia sighed. "Listen, I'm new to this whole 'being a pirate' thing, so tell me, are we going to do this all the time?"

"Well, it is Roger…" Desi explained. "So, I'm guessing that we have to do this at least a few more times, yeah…"

Lydia growled. "Great…" She turned off at the next intersection they came to. "You keep following Roger, I'm going to get the ship ready to go." She pointed a stern finger at Desi. "Just grab him and we're going to get the hell out of here! Got it?!"

Desi gulped. "Yes sir!"

"Good!" she replied.

And with that, they parted ways for the second time that day.

"I swear…" Desi started, talking to himself. "I don't think I'm going to survive very long on this crew…"

--

Roger sprinted towards the orphanage, trying to make it there as quick as he could.

_Shit, shit, shit!_ He thought. _Why did I leave?! I should've have stayed… If anyone's hurt…_ He cringed at the thought. Instead of continuing, he moved quicker, hastening his pace.

--

Desi made his way towards the orphanage as fast as he could. However, even with a body beefed up from years of rigorous dancing, he could not even compare to Rogers blinding speed.

But of course, going slower does have some benefits. For instance, one can notice a certain bounty poster, posted up on a nearby wall.

Desi gradually came to a stop and slowly moved back towards the wall.

He squinted in the semi-darkness of the night and read all he could on the poster.

Suddenly, he gasped and ripped the poster right off the wall. "Holy shit!"

He started to run back towards the orphanage, with redoubled energy.

--

Lydia seemed to be coasting towards the harbour at a high speed, feeling some sort of urgency in the situation.

_Let's see…_ She thought. _Dock one… Dock two… Dock four! Here we are!_

She stopped in front of the large wooden ship with a smile. She took in the site of the ship one last time.

"Right. Enough of that…" He quickly made her way to the side of the ship, grabbing the plank there so she could walk on the ship.

Unfortunately, someone wasn't going to let that happen.

The sound of a cocking gun caused Lydia to freeze and slowly turn towards the ship.

Sitting on the ships railing was a familiar face. It was the woman from earlier that day, the one with all the firearms. She sat, smiling, pointing her shotgun straight at Lydia's head.

"What the…" Lydia said under her breath.

"Sorry hun…" The other girl started. "There is a small change in plans. Y'see, I wasn't planning on you, or anyone to be coming to this harbour tonight." she explained.

"What are you saying?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking the ship." she put it bluntly. "I am taking the ship and I'm keeping your money, do you understand?"

"You… You bitch!" Lydia growled. "What did you do with Max?"

The girl blinked. "Max? Who's Max?"

"He's our nakama! He came to check the ship earlier!" she explained. "What did you do with him?"

She gave a small nod and a slight chuckle, hearing this plight. "I see…" she said, slowly shaking her head. "Listen hun. You're the only one coming to this dock tonight, besides me… You should probably find out why this 'nakama' of yours found it okay to put your trust in him in jeopardy… But, you know… Just without this ship!"

And with that, and a sickeningly sweet smile that said "Nyeh!", she raised the anchor, still pointing her gun at Lydia to keep her from doing anything.

After a while, when she was finally out of her range, Lydia gritted her teeth and slowly walked back towards the orphanage. "Holy shit…"

--

Roger found himself at the foot of the orphanage building.

The building however was surrounded by a blue aura of some sort.

Roger ran his hand along it, finding out it wasn't an aura at all. Rather, it was some sort of protective force field.

"What the hell is going on?" Roger asked softly.

He rammed his shoulder into the force field, but found he couldn't get in. "Crap!"

Just then, a silhouette appeared on the roof of the building, peeking at the ground, seeing what was going on. "Oi! Who's there?"

Roger looked up to the roof. "Who are you? What is all this?"

Roger squinted, trying to see if he could recognize the face. Unfortunately, this was to no avail, as the person was too far away from him.

"Is that… Yes! It is!" said the person on the roof. "I got to hand it to you! You sure do have a good eye in children!" the person said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?!" Roger asked angrily. "Who are you?!"

Suddenly, a large circle seemed to be drawn around the person and after a few seconds, the image in the circle was enlarged and magnified, revealing the person and what they had under their arm; a terrified, familiar looking nine-year-old girl.

"What's the matter, Roger?" the person said with a sick smile. "Don't you recognize your 'navigator'?"

--

Desi stopped for a few seconds, to catch his breath.

He slowly pulled the poster from his pocket and shook his head. "No way… This can't be… There is no way this can be real!"

Desi growled and threw it to the ground, starting to run again.

The poster slowly feel to the ground, lading into a puddle. The words, starting to smudge, were still somewhat readable.

"**Wanted Dead or Alive: Maximillion Foepaw (AKA Max), Captain of the Twenty Ship Fleet, 15,000,000 Beri.**"

****

To Be Continued.

--

__

Max: Oh ho ho! She can make weapons, shields and armor!

Roger: You're a horrible person! How dare you exploit her like that! A person like you… I can never forgive someone like you!

Max: Say what you will! But I command twenty ships! And they're all headed here!

Roger: Then get ready, cause I don't go down easy!

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: His Trust is Weak! Make Her Let Go!

__

Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

**A/N:** Sorry about the short length! I just needed to use this as a sort of a transition chapter, to tie up all the loose ends.

Plus, I know it's not that good, just review anyways, kay?


	14. Doodle Arc Chapter 5

****

A/N: Hey… Reviews!

****

Malchior The Draco: Don't worry, I was ashamed with my last chapter, so I'm gonna try to disassociate myself from it as much as I can, and write more and more.

****

Luda59: Oh? Well, if you liked her, then you're going to like what I have planned later on… SPOILER ALERT

And… Samba Kenpou? What are you? An old lady? I think Desi's MOTHER uses that fighting style.

****

Justin Brett: What? Don Krieg? He's NOTHING like Don Krieg? All Max wants is military might and to defeat someone who is a lot younger than him… Wait a minute…

****

deathshark: The only reason you think of Don Krieg is the fact he commands so many ships. However, a lot of that is explained in this chapter. Fact is, he's nothing like Don Krieg, contrary to what I said to **Justin Brett**.

Now, on with the story!

--

****

Previously…

__

Desi and Lydia found themselves running after a very quick Roger.

"What the hell is going on?" Desi yelled, trying to make Roger overhear.

Lydia sighed. "Listen, I'm new to this whole 'being a pirate' thing, so tell me, are we going to do this all the time?"

"Well, it is Roger…" Desi explained. "So, I'm guessing that we have to do this at least a few more times, yeah…"

Lydia growled. "Great…" She turned off at the next intersection they came to. "You keep following Roger, I'm going to get the ship ready to go." She pointed a stern finger at Desi. "Just grab him and we're going to get the hell out of here! Got it?!"

Desi gulped. "Yes sir!"

"Good!" she replied.

And with that, they parted ways for the second time that day.

"I swear…" Desi started, talking to himself. "I don't think I'm going to survive very long on this crew…"

--

Roger sprinted towards the orphanage, trying to make it there as quick as he could.

Shit, shit, shit! He thought. Why did I leave?! I should've have stayed… If anyone's hurt… He cringed at the thought. Instead of continuing, he moved quicker, hastening his pace.

--

Desi made his way towards the orphanage as fast as he could. However, even with a body beefed up from years of rigorous dancing, he could not even compare to Rogers blinding speed.

But of course, going slower does have some benefits. For instance, one can notice a certain bounty poster, posted up on a nearby wall.

Desi gradually came to a stop and slowly moved back towards the wall.

He squinted in the semi-darkness of the night and read all he could on the poster.

Suddenly, he gasped and ripped the poster right off the wall. "Holy shit!"

He started to run back towards the orphanage, with redoubled energy.

--

Lydia seemed to be coasting towards the harbour at a high speed, feeling some sort of urgency in the situation.

Let's see… She thought. Dock one… Dock two… Dock four! Here we are!

She stopped in front of the large wooden ship with a smile. She took in the site of the ship one last time.

"Right. Enough of that…" He quickly made her way to the side of the ship, grabbing the plank there so she could walk on the ship.

Unfortunately, someone wasn't going to let that happen.

The sound of a cocking gun caused Lydia to freeze and slowly turn towards the ship.

Sitting on the ships railing was a familiar face. It was the woman from earlier that day, the one with all the firearms. She sat, smiling, pointing her shotgun straight at Lydia's head.

"What the…" Lydia said under her breath.

"Sorry hun…" The other girl started. "There is a small change in plans. Y'see, I wasn't planning on you, or anyone to be coming to this harbour tonight." she explained.

"What are you saying?" Lydia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking the ship." she put it bluntly. "I am taking the ship and I'm keeping your money, do you understand?"

"You… You bitch!" Lydia growled. "What did you do with Max?"

The girl blinked. "Max? Who's Max?"

"He's our nakama! He came to check the ship earlier!" she explained. "What did you do with him?"

She gave a small nod and a slight chuckle, hearing this plight. "I see…" she said, slowly shaking her head. "Listen hun. You're the only one coming to this dock tonight, besides me… You should probably find out why this 'nakama' of yours found it okay to put your trust in him in jeopardy… But, you know… Just without this ship!"

And with that, and a sickeningly sweet smile that said "Nyeh!", she raised the anchor, still pointing her gun at Lydia to keep her from doing anything.

After a while, when she was finally out of her range, Lydia gritted her teeth and slowly walked back towards the orphanage. "Holy shit…"

--

Roger found himself at the foot of the orphanage building.

The building however was surrounded by a blue aura of some sort.

Roger ran his hand along it, finding out it wasn't an aura at all. Rather, it was some sort of protective force field.

"What the hell is going on?" Roger asked softly.

He rammed his shoulder into the force field, but found he couldn't get in. "Crap!"

Just then, a silhouette appeared on the roof of the building, peeking at the ground, seeing what was going on. "Oi! Who's there?"

Roger looked up to the roof. "Who are you? What is all this?"

Roger squinted, trying to see if he could recognize the face. Unfortunately, this was to no avail, as the person was too far away from him.

"Is that… Yes! It is!" said the person on the roof. "I got to hand it to you! You sure do have a good eye in children!" the person said with a chuckle.

"What do you mean?!" Roger asked angrily. "Who are you?!"

Suddenly, a large circle seemed to be drawn around the person and after a few seconds, the image in the circle was enlarged and magnified, revealing the person and what they had under their arm; a terrified, familiar looking nine-year-old girl.

"What's the matter, Roger?" the person said with a sick smile. "Don't you recognize your 'navigator'?"

--

Desi stopped for a few seconds, to catch his breath.

He slowly pulled the poster from his pocket and shook his head. "No way… This can't be… There is no way this can be real!"

Desi growled and threw it to the ground, starting to run again.

The poster slowly feel to the ground, lading into a puddle. The words, starting to smudge, were still somewhat readable.

"**Wanted Dead or Alive: Maximillion Foepaw (AKA Max), Captain of the Twenty Ship Fleet, 15,000,000 Beri.**"

****

Doodle Arc Chapter 5: His Trust is Weak! Make Her Let Go!

Roger gritted his teeth as he looked up at the man he who was, not too long ago, admitted onto his crew.

Max, on the other hand, just laughed. "Oh ho ho ho! Why do you make such a face, Roger?" He grinned deviously. "Is something the matter?"

"Damn right, something's the matter!" Roger yelled. "What the hell are you doing up there? You were supposed to get our ship ready for tomorrow!"

Max chuckled. "You know, I thought about it, but I decided not to!" He raised up the girl with one hand and lifted her into the air. "With good reason, I might add!"

"You bastard!" Roger exclaimed. "What are you doing with her?"

"I was thinking, after you told us your story earlier…" Max started. "This girl has untapped potential…" He looked to the girl as he put her back under her arm as she trembled in fear.

"Untapped potential?" Roger asked.

"She can draw anything…" Max grinned deviously. "Anything at all, and she can make it real!" He stretched out his free arm to expose the backside of his knuckles. "Weapons, armor, monsters, warriors andall sorts of fantastic things." With each thing he announced, he raised one finger, counting them off with five in total.

He looked to the girl again. "When coming to life from paper though, she can't move until she makes the drawings disappear." He started to laugh. "It stinks for her, but for the person controlling her, it's perfectly fine!"

Roger gasped. Then, his expression became cold and blank.

"Controlling?"

Max nodded. "Don't you see? With everything you need to win at your disposal, you should do whatever you can to ensure that it will always be at your disposal!"

Roger started to shake slightly with anger. "That's… That's a horrible way to think…"

"A pirate must do what they can to be the best!" He gave a sickening grin one last time. "Trust me… That is a law of the ocean."

Roger clenched his fist, ready to pounce into action, when suddenly, a running Desi interrupted his battle mindset.

"Roger! Roger!" Desi yelled breathlessly as he came to a quick stop.

Roger turned to the first mate and raised his eyebrow. "What is it Desi?" he asked in an intimidating tone.

Desi gulped, almost scared of Roger. "Uh… Oh, right… There's something I have to tell you about…" he turned towards the roof of the orphanage, recognizing Max's face. "Gah! It's him!"

Roger turned back to the roof and gritted his teeth. "I know… To think, we almost trusted him… Turns out he's a spineless coward…"

"He's not just that!" Desi started as he slowly turned back to Roger. "You see, I was running here when I caught a glimpse of a couple bounty posters… One of them caught my eye and… Well…" Desi gulped again. "It's him, Roger! He's no navigator!"

Roger raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? He has a bounty?"

"Oh ho ho ho!" Max started to laugh. "Well, isn't that a little bit of inconvenience! Had one of you seen that poster beforehand, I'm sure I wouldn't be where I am right now!" he smirked.

"Roger, he's a pirate captain!" Desi exclaimed. "And not just any captain!" Desi gritted his teeth. "He's worth fifteen million beri and commands a crew with at least twenty ships!"

Roger jumped. "Are you serious?! Twenty?! Is that for real?!"

"I assure you… My power as a captain is proportionate to the number of people I command!" Max explained. "For I am Maximillion Foepaw! The greatest captain in all the West Blue!"

Lydia then sombrely walked onto the scene, puffing on her cigarette. She eyed her two crewmates and let out a heavy sigh. "I've got some bad news guys…"

Roger turned to her. "You too? What is it?"

"She turned away, not looking directly at Roger. "Or ship was stolen by the same person who sold it to me… I was being scammed from the beginning…"

Desi gasped. "Oh my… That's horrible!"

She looked up. "I know, and none of this would have happened if Max had made it to the ship, like he said!"

Roger gritted his teeth and clenched his fists again. "I have a strong feeling that Max never intended to head to the ship at all…" He slowly pointed up to the roof of the nearby building.

Lydia turned and gasped when she saw Max on the roof. "I can't believe this… What are you doing up there?!"

Max sighed. "How many times am I going to have to explain this? I'm teaching your captain what it takes to be a pirate!"

He grinned again. "And he's right, I never planned to even go near the ship! After I left, I made a little phone call, and then I came right here, to find the girl!"

Roger growled. "He feels that if he controls the person with power, that makes him powerful as well…"

Lydia took a deep drag on her cigarette. "What a cowardly approach…" She glared up at the roof. "Obviously, we can not let this stand…"

Desi smirked. "You know, I was just thinking the same thing!"

Roger cracked his knuckles. "Then how about we stop thinking and get some action done around here?!"

"Oh ho ho ho!" Max laughed. "You are planning to stop me? I guess it would be easy to stop me if I truly was a coward. However, I assure you that I mean business… And to prove it…"

He soon left their line of sight. It was quiet for a few moments.

Just then, something was thrown off the roof, and was falling fast towards the ground.

"What the-?!" Roger sprung into action and moved to catch it. It landed in his arms with great speed and Roger fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ow…" He looked down to see what he just caught.

"This is a warning to you, if you do in fact plan to stop me…" Max said, reappearing again.

Roger gasped and went pale.

The thing in his arms was an unconscious Rosalind, with a bullet wound in her right shoulder.

--

Meanwhile, a group of five ships was heading towards a certain island, to reconvene with their captain

"Hey, the boss said to meet up with him at this island, right?"

"Yeah… This was the closest place from where our boat was hijacked."

"I still can't believe our sniper betrayed the captain like that, Mister First Mate!"

"You can not believe it until you're blue in the face, but it did happen… This is why the captain always says 'Trust no one'!"

"Right! But why did he only ask for five ships instead of the whole fleet?"

"The same reason why he travels on a ship by himself, a sniper and I. The more people there are, the more potential betrayals…"

"The captain thinks really weird, Mister First Mate."

"True… But he is a master in battle, you just wait, Second Division Commander… Now, ready the cannon!"

--

"What the hell did you do to her?!" Roger asked in a demanding tone.

"She wasn't home when I snuck in." Max started to explain, but she seemed to put up a resistance when she came in and saw me taking hold of this girl!" He reached into his coat and pulled out a pistol with his free hand. "Safe to say, I nipped that problem in the bud!"

"So, the highlight of this man's power is kidnapping a small girl and shooting a woman…" Lydia stated.

"Shut up!" Max exclaimed. "In this world, the only person you can rely on to do anything correctly is yourself!" He gritted his teeth. "I command twenty ships, but I don't trust a single soul on my crew! The twentieth ship consists of me, my first mate, and my former sniper!"

He grunted. "Don't you see? If you trust others to do what you want, betrayal is always a possible result! It doesn't pay to trust anyone but yourself! This is why I do what I must to win, at all costs!"

"That's… That's a horrible way to think!" Desi exclaimed. "What kind of captain are you?! You command so many people, yet you trust none of them?!"

"Many? I think not!" Max chuckled and shook his head. "A person in power should know how to distribute that power correctly! It's true, I command twenty ships, however, they are small ships with no mare than five people on each ship!"

"So…" Roger started to count his fingers. "Your crew only has… Like… Um…"

"One hundred people, maximum." Lydia finished for him, lighting another cigarette.

"Oh ho ho ho! If I let too many people together in one place, chances are they might rise up and mutiny!" Max explained. "And if it does, it will only be five against ninety-five!"

Suddenly, in the distance, a cannon shot went off, followed by a large splash.

"What the hell was that?" Lydia asked calmly, turning back towards the harbor.

Another shot went off, followed by another splash.

"Well, well, they arrived earlier than expected!" Max said with another evil grin. "You see, When I left this evening, I made a little call, via my Den Den Mushi!" He pulled out the snail from his jacket. It had an expensive looking pattern on it as well as large, full, black eyebrows.

A third shot went off into the water, creating the largest splash out of the three.

"This call was to my first mate! I told him to bring five ships down here as soon as he could!" he smiled deviously. "One shot into the water means they're here… Two shots into the water means they're well armed… But three shots… They're ready to take down a village with their bare hands!"

Roger stood silently, looking up at Max.

For those paying attention at home, he still held Rosalind in his arms.

"This is why I've taken the highest spot I could, and surrounded myself with a barrier!" Max explained. "And when this is over, I'll take this brat with me and we'll conquer the Grand Line!"

"So, about twenty five people are going to come and attack this village?" Lydia asked

"And because of this barrier, he's going to be the only person in town who's safe…" Desi added.

Roger kept a silent gaze to the roof.

Suddenly, a cough came from his arms, followed by a pained wheeze.

Roger gasped and looked down. "Rosalind…? Rosalind?! Are you okay?!"

Desi and Lydia quickly gathered around Roger, seeing if they could tend to Rosalind.

"I'm… I'm fine… Let me down, please…" She said in a soft voice.

Roger obliged and put her down, feet first and she slowly stood up. "I'm sorry… I was out, getting groceries for the next day… When he came in… I couldn't stop him…"

"It's okay!" Desi said in a reassuring tone. "Ah!" He bowed. "I'm Desi Koe, twenty-nine years old. My hobbies are dancing and martial arts. Pleased to meet you."

Lydia bapped Desi on the head. "Oi, this isn't time for that."

She chuckled slightly and looked at the roof. "Those two aren't quite so different actually…" she started to explain.

"How so?" Lydia asked.

"Roger told you her story, yes?" she asked, taking in a deep breath. "It left her hurt and scarred… In fact, her trust should be about as weak as his…" She turned to Roger. "But, she's the only one who can let you get to him… She's the only one that can drop this barrier…"

"Oi, that's true!" Max agreed. "But… If she even tries to…" He pointed his pistol at her head. "Well, let's just say she won't be dropping this barrier anytime soon!"

Roger finally broke his silence. "Shut up, you shit-head!" he yelled.

Everyone jumped back a little, surprised by his sudden outburst.

In the background of everything, the sound of footsteps could be heard, approaching their position. The sound of about twenty five people walking started to get louder and louder.

"Listen…" Roger said, a little more quietly. "People are coming, and obviously, a fight is going to be unavoidable… However…" He looked back to the roof. "Her trust is broken and dashed, and we have to get her to trust us… Almost like we're going to have to 'fight' her past…"

"What are you saying?" Lydia asked.

"I gotcha…" Desi said, quietly.

Roger nodded and took in a quick, sharp breath. "For the true battle here, I will not throw a single punch!"

****

To Be Continued.

--

__

Desi: Roger, they're taking you down pretty harshly!

Roger: It's fine…

Lydia: Really, you should at least fight back!

Roger: It's fine…

Max: Then at least give up! You're making a fool of yourself!

__

Roger: At least I don't need a kid to help me win!

****

Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: I Will Not Fight! Second Division and An Angry Chef!

__

Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

--

****

A/N: There, that's a better length. I hope this chapter shed some light on Max's personality.

Review!

Right now!


	15. Doodle Arc Chapter 6

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A/N: Hey… Reviews!

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Malchior The Draco: Keep your OC under control, or I'm gonna call the OCC (Original Character Cops) on you!

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Luda59: No, he'll fight… He'll throw a punch… But that's not the "true battle"! He's talking about getting the girl to trust him.

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Justin Brett: You're forgetting that the Jolly Pirates are only three strong, and Roger isn't even a well known pirate yet.

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deathshark: I didn't think Crocodile was that low… But whatever you say!

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kilnorc: At least someone gets it!

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Super Hurricane: Fist of all, don't assume. I have NOT said anything to make anyone believe that Max is like superman or something. All I said was he was good in combat. That could mean a lot of things, such as he is sneaky and underhanded… And the way this is going so far, I wouldn't be surprised.

Also, you forget that the girl is scared half to death with a gun pointed to her head. She has no idea what the Jolly Pirates are capable of, so I don't think she has any idea about what's going to happen to her.

Lastly, why does no one get that the "true battle" refers to the "fight with her past"? I thought I made it obvious…

Now, on with the story!

--

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Previously…

__

"I was thinking, after you told us your story earlier…" Max started. "This girl has untapped potential…" He looked to the girl as he put her back under her arm as she trembled in fear.

"Untapped potential?" Roger asked.

"She can draw anything…" Max grinned deviously. "Anything at all, and she can make it real!" He stretched out his free arm to expose the backside of his knuckles. "Weapons, armor, monsters, warriors and all sorts of fantastic things." With each thing he announced, he raised one finger, counting them off with five in total.

He looked to the girl again. "When coming to life from paper though, she can't move until she makes the drawings disappear." He started to laugh. "It stinks for her, but for the person controlling her, it's perfectly fine!"

--

Desi gulped, almost scared of Roger. "Uh… Oh, right… There's something I have to tell you about…" he turned towards the roof of the orphanage, recognizing Max's face. "Gah! It's him!"

Roger turned back to the roof and gritted his teeth. "I know… To think, we almost trusted him… Turns out he's a spineless coward…"

"He's not just that!" Desi started as he slowly turned back to Roger. "You see, I was running here when I caught a glimpse of a couple bounty posters… One of them caught my eye and… Well…" Desi gulped again. "It's him, Roger! He's no navigator!"

Roger raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? He has a bounty?"

"Oh ho ho ho!" Max started to laugh. "Well, isn't that a little bit of inconvenience! Had one of you seen that poster beforehand, I'm sure I wouldn't be where I am right now!" he smirked.

--

Lydia then sombrely walked onto the scene, puffing on her cigarette. She eyed her two crewmates and let out a heavy sigh. "I've got some bad news guys…"

Roger turned to her. "You too? What is it?"

"She turned away, not looking directly at Roger. "Or ship was stolen by the same person who sold it to me… I was being scammed from the beginning…"

Desi gasped. "Oh my… That's horrible!"

She looked up. "I know, and none of this would have happened if Max had made it to the ship, like he said!"

Roger gritted his teeth and clenched his fists again. "I have a strong feeling that Max never intended to head to the ship at all…" He slowly pointed up to the roof of the nearby building.

Lydia turned and gasped when she saw Max on the roof. "I can't believe this… What are you doing up there?!"

Max sighed. "How many times am I going to have to explain this? I'm teaching your captain what it takes to be a pirate!"

--

Just then, something was thrown off the roof, and was falling fast towards the ground.

"What the-?!" Roger sprung into action and moved to catch it. It landed in his arms with great speed and Roger fell to the ground with a thud.

"Ow…" He looked down to see what he just caught.

"This is a warning to you, if you do in fact plan to stop me…" Max said, reappearing again.

Roger gasped and went pale.

The thing in his arms was an unconscious Rosalind, with a bullet wound in her right shoulder.

--

He grunted. "Don't you see? If you trust others to do what you want, betrayal is always a possible result! It doesn't pay to trust anyone but yourself! This is why I do what I must to win, at all costs!"

"That's… That's a horrible way to think!" Desi exclaimed. "What kind of captain are you?! You command so many people, yet you trust none of them?!"

"Many? I think not!" Max chuckled and shook his head. "A person in power should know how to distribute that power correctly! It's true, I command twenty ships, however, they are small ships with no mare than five people on each ship!"

"So…" Roger started to count his fingers. "Your crew only has… Like… Um…"

"One hundred people, maximum." Lydia finished for him, lighting another cigarette.

--

"Listen…" Roger said, a little more quietly. "People are coming, and obviously, a fight is going to be unavoidable… However…" He looked back to the roof. "Her trust is broken and dashed, and we have to get her to trust us… Almost like we're going to have to 'fight' her past…"

"What are you saying?" Lydia asked.

"I gotcha…" Desi said, quietly.

Roger nodded and took in a quick, sharp breath. "For the true battle here, I will not throw a single punch!"

****

Doodle Arc Chapter 6: I Will Not Fight! Second Division and An Angry Chef!

"You won't throw a punch?" Max asked. "At all?"

Roger nodded. "I'm saying that until I get that girl to believe I can help…" He glared up at him. "I'm not going to fight."

"Roger…" Desi stated. "Don't you think that's a little… I don't know, dangerous?"

"Sounds perfectly fine to us." came deep, fairly monotone voice from a distance.

The three pirates turned to see it was a group of people, twenty six to be exact. They varied in size and height, and each held some sort of weapon. It was unmistakable, however , that the two who stood in front were in charge of this mob.

On the left was a man with a long face, tanned skin and a small tuft of blonde hair that topped his head. He seemed to have a large, muscular body, on which he wore a mustard yellow vest and baggy, light blue pants. It seemed as though this person had spent some time in a desert somewhere.

The one of the right was short, but no less dangerous looking. His black hair was combed forward, spiking straight out in front of him. He wore a heavy, grey jacket, and matching pants, going with the color and the weight of the ensemble. He also wore heavy, black boots and gloves. His body was fairly well hidden.

"The captain called earlier. I was surprised to hear he survived the hijacking, but, here we are. And it seems that he has instilled his usual ability to get into trouble." The one on the left sighed. "It is quite bothersome to be perfectly honest. We just come here on a simple order, and there he is on the roof of a building, being barked at by three young people. I swear, if I didn't hold such a high position in this crew, I would have left a long time ago, Don't you agree, Bats-san?" the one on the left said monotonously.

Ippon, First Mate of the Twenty Ship Fleet

"Yeah, Ippon!" replied the one on the right replied. "And he called in my division to assist, so he must mean business!"

Batsue, Commander of the Twenty Ship Fleet's Second Division

"Oh ho ho ho!" Max laughed. "I do indeed mean business!" the captain turned to Roger. "You see, I have four divisions within my splendid crew!"

"Oh yeah?" Roger sat down on the ground, cross legged. He also crossed his arms and closed his eyes.

"What are you doing Roger?" Lydia asked, starting to sound a little panicked.

"I'm not fighting." He said simply. "Go on Maximillion… Tell me more…"

"Each division has it's own uses and purposes." Max continued. "Division One is strictly a treasure hunting unit, created from mapmakers and strongmen. Division Three is a recruitment group, centred on bringing more people to my fleet. Division Four is a bunch of inventors, designing, creating and implementing new weapon and tools to benefit our crew!"

"And what does Division Two do?" Roger asked. "… I assume they're the ones here today."

Batsue stepped in. "We're in charge of… Roughing up, as one would put it! A group of cut-throats looking for a fight!"

"Oh ho ho ho!" Max laughed. "You are much too humble Batsue!" he said, turning back to Roger. "They are better known as enforcers! Brutality is their key weapon… Well, that and a few other things…"

Roger raised an eyebrow. "Other things?"

"You'll see…" Max replied quietly.

Suddenly, one of the henchmen started to run at the pirates. "Yaaah!" he yelled, revealing a large hammer he had pulled from a holster on his back.

He swung it swiftly, hitting Roger square in the cheek.

Roger was sent flying. However, his eyes were still closed and he didn't emit so much as an "Ow."

To Lydia and Desi, it happened in such slow motion that they could actually watch the very second of impact and have some distinct time leftover until Roger's trajectory.

Eventually, Roger landed on his side, with a rather large thud.

A few moments of silence passed, but Roger did not get up.

A second henchman came running out and kicked Roger in the chest, causing the blonde captain to gain some altitude.

"Hey!" Lydia yelled. "Stop that! Get out of here!"

"Desi crossed his arms and stood there quietly.

Roger still did not make a noise, or show any pain. He just kept his eyes closed and fell back to the ground.

Max grinned wildly. "So, this is the man you call captain?!" He started to laugh. "You'd be better off in my crew! Bottom rung, but you'd be on the winning team!" He turned to the henchman. "Don't stop! Kick him harder."

"Oi, don't." Ippon said. "He's already down, and there's no honor in that. Brutality may be your division's specialty, but-"

"Oi, Ippon… This is my crew…" Max said, with a bit of an annoyed, childish look about him, to which Ippon replied with a scoff.. He turned back to the henchman. "Continue!"

"With pleasure, boss!" the henchman said with an evil grin on his face. He drew he foot back, getting ready to kick again.

"Hey! I told you to…" Lydia grabbed her knife out of the sheath that was strewn over her lower back. "Quit it!" she yelled as she hit the kicking henchman with the hilt of her knife, hard enough to knock him out.

The hammer pirate growled. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" He brought the hammer back, ready to swing it. He jumped in the air, planning to hit her in a downwards motion.

Lydia grabbed her cigarette and stuck the lit end in between the pirate's eyes as he came down. "**Flame Lily.**" She said, giving him a cold, ominous glare.

The pirate dropped his hammer and fell backwards to the ground, clutching his forehead and screaming at the top of his lungs.

She stuck the cigarette back in her mouth and puffed on it. "Beating on someone who's refused to fight, and continuing to beat him up, knowing he won't fight back…"

"That's just low…" Desi cut in, cracking his knuckles

"Guys…" Roger sat up and looked straight at Lydia and Desi. His posture was slouchy and his legs were crossed, but his eyes blared out an intimidating gaze, so much so that even Max, all the way on the roof, jolted and took notice.

"I chose not to fight…" he said bluntly. "And pirates don't exactly play by the rules. I knew the risks, but I still did it anyway…" He closed his eyes again. "I said a fight was unavoidable though, so, if you're to slow to act before I get hit, blame only yourself."

This struck a nerve with Lydia. "Too… Slow?!" she growled. "I just saved your life!"

"Oi…" Desi grabbed her shoulder. "He didn't mean it like that…" He looked to Roger. "I just think that he's surprised that we hadn't started beating the shit out of them yet…"

Roger just slowly and nonchalantly nodded, eyes closed and arms crossed.

Lydia looked to him, and then to Desi. She chuckled and turned to the group of pirates. "Well then… I suppose we should get this started." She looked to the two pirates on the ground. "There are twenty-five of you, yes? That just leaves twenty-three…" She pulled her knife out again. "Let's see if I can't make it an even zero."

Batsue started to laugh. "My brutal attack force, lose to one little girl?! You must be sorely mistaken!"

Lydia gritted her teeth. "Brutality is no match for cunning and speed…" She charged into the group, quickly passing Ippon and Batsue. She stabbed one of the pirates, felling him quickly.

"Oh yeah…" she said turning back to Batsue. "Don't call me a 'little girl'!"

Half of the pirates left pulled out swords, and the other half had guns or some form of blunt weapon. They all started to charge at Lydia, yelling a deafening battle cry.

Lydia sighed jumped high in the air, causing a lot of the nameless pirates to miss her. Some even crashed into each other and knocked themselves out.

She landed on the back of one of the pirates and did a quick count. "One, two, three… nineteen…"

"Hey!" Yelled the pirate, starting to stand upright.

Lydia growled and jumped off his back and swept his legs from under him, causing him to fell down with a crash. Landing straight on his back, he fell unconscious.

Two more came at her, both with large, one-handed swords. They quickly surrounded her and one sliced at her. She ducked the attack, causing the other pirate to be sliced instead. While the first one was in shock, Lydia sliced up his back.

One more came at her, trying to surprise her from a rear assault. However, she calmly elbowed his gut and threw the back of her fist into his face.

"That's enough!" Yelled someone from outside of the crowd.

Every one turned to see who it was.

It was Batsue, with a sadistic smile over his face. "You… Have some strange sense of combat, don't you?" he started to snicker. "No one, in the history of the second division, has managed to take down, ten of my men single-handedly!"

"Oi, did you say something?" Lydia asked. It appeared that while Batsue was making her speech, she took down five more pirates.

"Hey! I said stop it!" Batsue replied in a whiney tone.

"Sorry." she lied, putting the knife away.

The division commander smirked. "You think fighting these lowly henchmen will gain the captain's respect?"

"Wow! She took down fifteen men, by herself!" Max said in a scared tone. "That's amazing!"

"Don't be impressed!" Batsue yelled to the building top.

"Oi, Bat-san… You should pay attention." Ippon said monotonously. "After all, you can't be regarded as this crew's foremost combat master without learning to know what you're opponent is doing at all times. It just doesn't seem fair to those who are also good at fighting, but aren't the head of the Second Division. It makes you look lazy and incredibly unorganized with your battle strategies."

Batsue looked to Ippon. "What are you…" He then noticed that the other eight pirates were down on the ground as well. "What the hell?!"

Lydia blinked. "Well, I had three down by the time you were finished talking to captain eyebrows up there."

"Ouch…" Max said softly, stifling back a tear.

"But while mister First Mate over here was talking, I had time to take down the rest of them." Lydia explained.

Desi nodded. "Now you see… We are no longer outnumbered! It's three against three!"

"Ahem!" Roger cleared his throat in an obvious manner.

"Sorry… I guess it's still three against two…" Desi corrected himself.

Batsue looked to Ippon, to which the First Mate responded with a nod.

The division commander smiled. "Alright… I want payback… Pure, brutal payback for my division!" He pointed to Lydia. "I'll show you the true terror of my 'Heavy Brutality'!"

Lydia smirked. "Fine, and I'll just show you the blade off my knife…" She pulled it out. "Up close, and personal!"

--

Roger took in a deep breath and started to speak strongly.

"Hey! Girl!" he yelled to the top of the building.

Both the girl and Rosalind took notice and started to watch him.

"Watch carefully, because this fight is only the beginning!"

****

To Be Continued.

--

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Lydia: What?! Where is this guy's attacks coming from? I can't see them coming at all! He said "Heavy Brutality" but I don't know what that means. Uh… Lotus! Lantana!… Gah! It's not working! All I have left is my speed I guess…

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Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Hidden Art Combat! The Heavy Coat that Hides All!

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Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!

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A/N: I should explain some of the Puns in this chapter… Well… Jus the two I guess

The name "**Ippon**" comes from the Japanese word "**ippondzoushi**" which means "**monotone**". Also, "**Ippon**" itself means "**one long thing**". I wanted this character's theme to be "**Mono--**", referring to mono**tone** and mono**logue**.

The name "**Batsue**" is just an altered pronunciation of the Japanese word "**buatsui**" which means "**heavy**". Also, "**batsu**" is the Japanese word for both "**attack**" and "**clan/faction**". It refers to both his style of clothing and his position as Commander of the Second Division.

Isn't that interesting?

Now review!


	16. Filler 2

Hey there sports fans! Another filler here, sorry about the wait, but the next chapter will be up very soon.

I've been busy with drawing and videos and stuff… Speaking of videos, this filler is dedicated to these great videos, created by the handsomest guy in the world. If you like what you see, email me!

Thank you and have a great day!

/watch?vh-BxUilC9oo

/watch?vWT3VBJVhZZY

/watch?vPdDFR1tT1cg

/watch?vWJl0PKSRKg

/watch?vzcw35wJ9FpE

/watch?vr5A1y2vwsi4


	17. Filler 3

Hey guys, it's me again.

Sorry about my absence, but I've been switching computers and on like several other projects.

But I'm back now and will be updating in the next two weeks. That's a promise!


	18. Doodle Arc Chapter 7

**A/N:** No Reviews?! Oh well… Odd, maybe, but, whatever…

Now, on with the story!

--

**Previously…**

**[A/N] This chapter will forgo the PREVIOUSLY section, for matters of convenience. You can always reference to the last chapter.**

**---**

**Doodle Arc Chapter 7: Hidden Art Combat! The Heavy Coat that Hides All!**

The two fighters stood in the tense, silent street. The only sound coming from anything was the whistling of the breeze.

Lydia stood, looking at the smaller man, knife in hand and eyes locked on him.

Batsue looked at her as well, with his sadistic grin still painted on his mousey face.

"Well?" Lydia started. "You gonna go, or should I?"

Batsue snickered and shrugged. "I don't see why I have to get this going… I mean, YOU are the one who wants to fight so badly…" He grinned wickedly. "I'm just one of many punching bags to you, right?"

Desi crossed his arms. "He has a point…" He said to himself. "He didn't initiate anything… And we were the ones who started taking THEM down…" He stroked his chin. "Still, if they truly are part of a crew, why hasn't he tried to avenge his fallen nakama?"

Lydia lit up another cigarette and took a short puff on it. "If you're going to be that way…" Then, with a quick step, she ran towards her opponent and stabbed her knife into him.

"Alright! Great hit!" Desi exclaimed, throwing his fist in the air.

"I wouldn't count on that." Ippon said, looking plainly at the other first mate.

Lydia stood where she was, trying to pull her knife from Batsue. However, it would not become free, and Lydia just stood there, dumbfounded as to the reason why she couldn't get her weapon back.

"What's the matter? Stuck?" Batsue asked with a evil snicker.

"What's going on?" Lydia also asked, sounding a little annoyed.

Batsue struck his palm into Lydia's stomach, causing her to fly back a little, landing on her back.

"You stabbed into my jacket, which is ten pounds of elephant hide leather." Batsue explained. "You never actually hit me, my coat is just that thick and heavy!"

Lydia got up groggily. "Ugh… Ten pounds?" She asked clutching her stomach. "Wouldn't that weigh you down, like a hell of a lot?!"

"Sure, it may slow me down, but it has its advantages." Batsue grabbed hold of the knife, still stuck in his coat and pulled it out with ease. "All that weighted training has made me exceptionally strong…" He snickered and grinned, tossing the knife at Lydia, obviously trying to hit her with the blade.

She quickly sidestepped the knife and looked at him. "I'm guessing this isn't going to be as simple as I had thought…"

---

Roger watched the fight silently, still sitting on the ground.

However, on top of the roof, the young girl watched the fight intensely, paying attention to all that had gone on so far.

With every hit, she would gasp or squirm. With every gasp and squirm, however, Max would take notice and scoffed.

Eventually, he asked. "Do you really think that they can save you?" He did not expect her to answer, for she had not said anything the whole time this had been going on. "Whatever, they are not going to succeed. They don't even know who you are, or what your name is…" He thought for a second. "Well… Neither do I, but still, I'm not someone who is trying to save you… The point is, never believe anything anyone says, understand?" He said, a tone of seriousness in his voice.

Unbeknownst to him, however, Roger managed to catch the brunt of what he had told her, as max does talk fairly loud. He specifically paid attention to that last statement. "I understand…" he whispered to himself. "I understand that the faster we get her away from you, the better!"

---

Lydia picked her knife back up and chomped down on her cigarette. "You and your little coat don't scare me… You'll be way to slow to even hit me!"

"Then why don't you come after me again?" He asked, trying to egg her on.

She chuckled, "Fine." She ran at him rather quickly.

However, the second she got close enough to him, he smirked and grabbed an edge of his coat. "**Hidden Art Combat: Heavy Fist!**"

He opened his coat and a spring loaded boxing glove popped out extremely fast and hit Lydia square in the jaw, sending her flying once again.

"Lydia!" Desi gasped.

Batsue ran after her and as she landed, he jumped on top of her, locking her down onto the ground. With his sick smile still on his face, he started to punch Lydia repeatedly and brutally.

Lydia grunted with each punch, but managed to summon the strength to throw the man off of her. "What… What was that?!"

"The good thing about having a coat this large and heavy…" Batsue explained. "Is the amount of things you can hide within it!" He walked over towards her. "The whole idea of brutality is to needlessly destroy everything about your opponent, and if you have to fight a little dirty, then so be it!"

Desi growled. "That's a horrible fighting mentality!"

"Maybe…" Ippon replied. "But, if you think about it, isn't that the basis of any fighting strategy? To win? In a fight between pirates, the ends justifies the means. I mean, we aren't saints here. However, I don't exactly agree with what my friend, Batsue, says, yet I can understand his reasons for saying it. Hopefully now, you can too, right?"

Desi blinked at the other first mate, not exactly sure if he was listening to that whole speech he had just made. Yet he felt he could understand the gist of what he was explaining. "If that's the case, then Lydia's gonna have to step up her game…"

Lydia managed to get back up, her nose bleeding as well as her bottom lip. "Peh…" She spat out some blood. "If that's heavy brutality, then you're going to hate what I bring to the table!"

"You done talking?" Batsue asked. "**Hidden Art Combat: Heavy Storm!**" He opened his jacket again, and instead of a fist popping out, a flurry of stones and rocks flew out, quickly and powerfully.

With a gasp, Lydia ducked and dodged whatever she could. However, it wasn't enough, as the larger, heavier rocks pelted her, twice in the stomach and several times in the head.

"Heh…" Batsue chuckled. "Heh heh heh! What happened to you?!" He asked rhetorically. "I thought you were all about speed! You're not even quick enough to dodge some rocks!"

Lydia rubbed her head where she had been hit. _He's… He's right…_ She thought. _I don't even have the skill to move around heavy rocks…_ She eyed her opponent carefully. _I haven't got one hit in this whole fight. I can't count on a close quarter frontal assault, not with that coat of his… All I have to rely on is my speed, and even that's not getting me anywhere… So…_

Lydia rubbed the back of her neck and sheathed her knife. "I guess I'll have to go even faster…"

"Faster?!" Batsue started to snicker loudly. "Don't you get it? You can be fast all you want, but you still can't get me! This jacket makes my invincible!"

"That's true." Lydia agreed. "But of course, there's definitely a way around it…"

"What are you talking about?" he asked with a sadistic grin.

_If I'm right… Whenever he makes an attack, he has to open that coat…_ Lydia smirked.

"There's no weaknesses to my heavy brutality!" Batsue scoffed. _Blast! _He thought. _If she's figured anything out, then I'll really have to take her out… My next trick should keep her down though!_

Lydia took in a deep breath as everyone- Desi, Ippon, Max, and even Roger- watched. She centered her eyes and focused them straight at Batsue.

She put one leg in front of the other. And then did it again.

And again.

And again.

Now, she was up to running speed, trying to cover the distance between them.

"This again…" Batsue shrugged. "I almost feel sorry for you… But…" He grabbed the edges of his coat. "**Finishing Move…**"

_I have to get faster…_ Lydia thought. _I need to surpass myself!_

"**Hidden Art Combat:…**"

_This is it… All or nothing…_

Batsue opened his coat to reveal two cannons, one attached to each of his hips. "**Heavy Ca-**"

But before he could finish his attack, Lydia had disappeared.

Everyone blinked and looked around. "How… How did she do that?!" Batsue contemplated. "People just don't disappear!"

Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder. "Huh?" He turned his head over his shoulder, but no one was there. The only thing that was there was the remnants of cigarette smoke.

"**Finishing Move! Whispering Rose Thorn!**"

Before Batsue could turn his head back, Lydia stood in front of him again and shoved her knife straight into the man's stomach.

The second division commander gasped, feeling the blow before even seeing it. "How…" was all that he could let out before he collapsed from a combination of pain and shock.

"I said it already," she started. "no matter how brutal you are, it doesn't matter if you can never hit them."

And with that, she fell to the ground to. "Ah… My head…"

Desi ran up to her. "Are you okay?"

"That asshole did a real number on me… Just let me lie down for a while."

"How did you do that?!" Desi asked loudly.

"I… I don't know…" Lydia admitted. "I needed to go faster, I knew that… And the whole disappearing act happened when I got up to ten steps in the blink of an eye…"

"You counted?!" Desi exclaimed.

"I needed as many I could get…" She smiled. "Make sure that girl gets to a safe place, alright?"

Then she closed her eyes, and blacked out.

---

The girl looked down onto the street, surprised at what just happened.

Although still scared, she felt that maybe she could relax, and believe in these three pirates.

**To Be Continued.**

--

_Desi: Fighting is such a hassle, especially when the guy doesn't know when to shut up!_

_Roger: Heh heh! I think it's funny how he talks!"_

_Desi: Yeah, you would. But I gotta admit, he's a lot stronger than I thought._

_Roger: Just use some dance attacks!_

_Desi: What do you think I'm trying to do?!_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: First Mates Clash! Long Speech, Short Temper!**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

--

**A/N:** All I'm going to say is sorry for the late update. Please review now!


	19. Doodle Arc Chapter 8

**A/N:** This is the area where I reply to reviews!

**kilnorc: **Good to know! And thanks, I pride myself on technique creation!

**Giant-flying-radish-of-doom: **I usually get criticised for making the fic's format like the show.

**deathshark: **Desi's fight… Right… You'll see

**Luda59: *SPOILER ALERT* **It WAS soru… That'll be brought up more in the next story arc!

**Malchior the Draco: **It's ON!

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**Previously…**

_The two fighters stood in the tense, silent street. The only sound coming from anything was the whistling of the breeze._

_Lydia stood, looking at the smaller man, knife in hand and eyes locked on him._

_Batsue looked at her as well, with his sadistic grin still painted on his mousey face._

"_Well?" Lydia started. "You gonna go, or should I?"_

_Batsue snickered and shrugged. "I don't see why I have to get this going… I mean, YOU are the one who wants to fight so badly…" He grinned wickedly. "I'm just one of many punching bags to you, right?"_

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_Lydia stood where she was, trying to pull her knife from Batsue. However, it would not become free, and Lydia just stood there, dumbfounded as to the reason why she couldn't get her weapon back._

"_What's the matter? Stuck?" Batsue asked with a evil snicker._

"_What's going on?" Lydia also asked, sounding a little annoyed._

_Batsue struck his palm into Lydia's stomach, causing her to fly back a little, landing on her back._

"_You stabbed into my jacket, which is ten pounds of elephant hide leather." Batsue explained. "You never actually hit me, my coat is just that thick and heavy!"_

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_Eventually, he asked. "Do you really think that they can save you?" He did not expect her to answer, for she had not said anything the whole time this had been going on. "Whatever, they are not going to succeed. They don't even know who you are, or what your name is…" He thought for a second. "Well… Neither do I, but still, I'm not someone who is trying to save you… The point is, never believe anything anyone says, understand?" He said, a tone of seriousness in his voice._

_Unbeknownst to him, however, Roger managed to catch the brunt of what he had told her, as max does talk fairly loud. He specifically paid attention to that last statement. "I understand…" he whispered to himself. "I understand that the faster we get her away from you, the better!"_

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_Lydia picked her knife back up and chomped down on her cigarette. "You and your little coat don't scare me… You'll be way to slow to even hit me!"_

"_Then why don't you come after me again?" He asked, trying to egg her on._

_She chuckled, "Fine." She ran at him rather quickly._

_However, the second she got close enough to him, he smirked and grabbed an edge of his coat. "**Hidden Art Combat: Heavy Fist!**"_

_He opened his coat and a spring loaded boxing glove popped out extremely fast and hit Lydia square in the jaw, sending her flying once again._

"_Lydia!" Desi gasped._

_Batsue ran after her and as she landed, he jumped on top of her, locking her down onto the ground. With his sick smile still on his face, he started to punch Lydia repeatedly and brutally._

"_The whole idea of brutality is to needlessly destroy everything about your opponent, and if you have to fight a little dirty, then so be it!"_

_Desi growled. "That's a horrible fighting mentality!"_

"_Maybe…" Ippon replied. "But, if you think about it, isn't that the basis of any fighting strategy? To win? In a fight between pirates, the ends justifies the means. I mean, we aren't saints here. However, I don't exactly agree with what my friend, Batsue, says, yet I can understand his reasons for saying it. Hopefully now, you can too, right?"_

_Desi blinked at the other first mate, not exactly sure if he was listening to that whole speech he had just made. Yet he felt he could understand the gist of what he was explaining. "If that's the case, then Lydia's gonna have to step up her game…"_

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_Lydia rubbed her head where she had been hit. He's… He's right… She thought. I don't even have the skill to move around heavy rocks… She eyed her opponent carefully. I haven't got one hit in this whole fight. I can't count on a close quarter frontal assault, not with that coat of his… All I have to rely on is my speed, and even that's not getting me anywhere… So…_

_Lydia rubbed the back of her neck and sheathed her knife. "I guess I'll have to go even faster…"_

"_This again…" Batsue shrugged. "I almost feel sorry for you… But…" He grabbed the edges of his coat. "__**Finishing Move…**__"_

_I have to get faster… Lydia thought. I need to surpass myself!_

"_**Hidden Art Combat:…**__"_

_This is it… All or nothing…_

_Batsue opened his coat to reveal two cannons, one attached to each of his hips. "**Heavy Ca-**"_

_But before he could finish his attack, Lydia had disappeared._

_Everyone blinked and looked around. "How… How did she do that?" Batsue contemplated. "People just don't disappear!"_

_Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder. "Huh?" He turned his head over his shoulder, but no one was there. The only thing that was there was the remnants of cigarette smoke._

"_**Finishing Move! Whispering Rose Thorn!**__"_

_Before Batsue could turn his head back, Lydia stood in front of him again and shoved her knife straight into the man's stomach._

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_Desi ran up to her. "Are you okay?"_

"_That asshole did a real number on me… Just let me lie down for a while."_

"_How did you do that?" Desi asked loudly._

"_I… I don't know…" Lydia admitted. "I needed to go faster, I knew that… And the whole disappearing act happened when I got up to ten steps in the blink of an eye…"_

"_You counted?" Desi exclaimed._

"_I needed as many I could get…" She smiled. "Make sure that girl gets to a safe place, alright?" _

_Then she closed her eyes, and blacked out._

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**Doodle Arc Chapter 8: First Mates Clash! Long Speech, Short Temper!**

Desi picked up Lydia in his arms and walked back. He stopped at where he watched the previous fight from. He bent down and laid her on the ground, limbs out, letting her breathe as she laid.

"There…" he said calmly. "You should be safe from here."

"Feh, fighting is always horrible, no matter who you fight for, or where you fight, or what you fight for." Came a familiar voice from the other side of the street.. "Really, all your left with is a hurt body and hurt feelings. Whether you fight with fists or swords or guns or whatever, I like to think that fighting never really solves anything, let alone just regular everyday disputes. It's a surprise that the world is in the state it's in. Of course, I'm speaking sarcastically, because-"

"Oi, Ippon…" yelled Max, from the rooftop. "How about you shut up!"

Desi looked between the two. "Such disrespect, how can HE be the captain?"

"Hey! I resent that!" shouted an angry Max. "I'm an excellent captain! I have a fifteen million beri bounty on my head, you know!"

"Yeah, I know." Desi replied. "I saw the poster. But that was after you tricked us into thinking you were a nice guy."

Ippon nodded. "That's just the Captain's way. He likes to go into a town alone and trick pirates into trusting him, eventually taking whatever they have and running out."

Desi looked at Ippon with a raised eyebrow, to which Ippon just replied with "What?"

"That was surprisingly concise…" Desi said confusedly.

All Ippon could do was shrug, as he himself had no idea why that speech was so short.

"Well…" Desi slowly took a fighting stance. "Let's see what you got, you long-faced, long talker!"

Ippon smirked and slowly approached Desi, just at walking speed. "**Gentle Breeze of a Summer's Day When a Young Man has his Heart Broken by the Girl he Once Loved Underneath a Wilting Cherry Blossom Tree!**"

Desi blinked, letting his guard down. "Wait… What?"

Suddenly, Ippon struck Desi, just a regular punch with his right hand, square in the jaw and the disco master fell to the ground.

"What the hell was that?" Desi asked loudly, wiping his jaw. "All you did was punch me!"

"So?" Ippon asked, shrugging.

"Well, if all you're going to do is punch me, then why…" Desi got up quickly and threw a high kick, aiming for Ippon's head. "…would you give it such an epic name?"

Ippon moved with the kick, flipping backwards and avoiding it. "That half-assed attack will get you no where. Just a simple kick? That's pathetic!"

"You're the one who threw just a punch!" Desi's temper started to flare. "I'll kick your ass you dumb, piece of…"

"You talk too much." Ippon said simply.

"**I** talk to much?" Desi gritted his teeth.

Ippon smirked and started to approach Desi again. "**Gentle Iron Fist of the Feudal Lord who Reigns over a County During a Civil War Between Another County, Whose Lord Happens to be His Identical Twin Brother!**"

Ippon then punched Desi again and he fell to the ground once again.

"Ah! I can't believe I fell for that… Again!" Desi yelled, cursing himself. "That was the exact same attack!"

"Pah! You wish!" the other man scoffed. "My first attack was a swift blow to your jaw with my right hand, correct?" He raised his right hand for emphasis. "Well, my last attack was a swift blow to your jaw with my left hand!"

Desi got up quickly. "Oh, I see." Desi then bowed. "Sorry for the misunderstanding."

A quiet breeze then blew by, adding to the eerie silence between the two fighters.

"Yeah right! Like I would apologize for that!" Desi started running at Ippon and jumped, trying to kick him in the chest.

Ippon, however, ducked the attack. "**Rising Populous of a Country Where a New Proclamation has Been Released, Making it Illegal to Eat Sunny-Side Up Eggs in any of the Summer Months!**"

Desi blinked, confusedly. "What?"

Then, with a fierce, aerial uppercut, Ippon managed to get in a punch right under Desi's chin.

Roger winced. "Oh geez… He already took to shots to the jaw…" Roger stood up. "That third one couldn't have been any fun…" He bit his bottom lip. _I want to get in there and help him out… Desi, just land a hit, you can turn the tide!_

Desi remained airborne for a while, but managed to land on his feet as he touched down to the ground. "At this rate, you're going to reduce my jaw to dust."

Ippon smirked. "Then, it's best that you stop using it to talk and let your fists speak for you!"

_Damn, he's got a point… _Desi thought. _If I could get over the fact that his attacks have freakishly… They have… They…_

"They have incredibly long names…" Desi said, realizing something important.

Max and Roger did a face fault in unison. "You just noticed that!" they said together.

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The girl watched the fight from above. With every blow that Desi had taken, she winced and squirmed, being the only movements she could actually use in the state she was in.

The girl started to breathe deeper and deeper. Max noticed this naturally and tightened his grip on her. "Relax girl, Ippon is an excellent fighter, trained in the desert by monks, vowed to an oath of silence… If you can believe that." He chuckled. "After he's done with that disco guy, he'll kill that captain and then we'll be on our way… And I will be free to use you however I want!"

The barrier around Max suddenly dropped and the girl bit right into Max's arm.

Max let her go, clutching to his arm, yelling profanities.

The girl ran to the edge of the rooftop, able to move now that the barrier was done.

"Hey! Pirates!" she yelled. Everyone looked up to the roof, as this was the first time any of them had heard her speak. Her voice sounded that of a young woman, however, it belonged to the girl, truly a beautiful voice. "You guys are the only ones who can help me!" Her eyes started to overflow with tears. "Please…" she started in a much more quiet tone. "I trust you…"

"You little brat…" Max grabbed his pistol and aimed it for her head. "I'll show you, you little bitch!"

"**Henka Henka no Massive Right!**"

Just then, the whole building shook and Max dropped his pistol off the side of the building.

"Just wait your turn, Maxxy." Roger said with a smile. His arm was naturally twice as large as normal and it had slammed into the side of the building, causing it to shake. "Now that she's said those three magic words, I don't have to hold back anymore…"

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"I'm getting fed up with this fight…" Ippon reacted immediately to the faltering of his captain. He started to run towards Desi. "**Incredible Force of-**"

"**Disuko Kenpou Danger!**" Desi launched himself at Ippon, kicking him square in the chest.

He took the hit hard and fell to the ground, but he quickly recovered. "Rrr… **Incredible Force of-**"

"**Disuko Kenpou Ring My Bell!**" Desi rushed at Ippon and punched past his head. He brought his elbow back quickly and crashed hard into the back of his head.

Ippon went down again, but forwards this time. It took longer for him to get up, but he still managed to do it. "What the hell…" He took in a deep breath and turned towards Desi. "**Incredible Force of-**"

"**Disuko Kenpou Knock on Wood!**" Desi started to punch at Ippon, his fist flying rapidly. His punches connected with him at all points of his body. With one final, strong blow, Ippon was sent flying backwards, coming down to the ground.

"You'd best be careful when naming your attacks, baby!" Desi said in a mocked southern accent. "It wouldn't be fair if someone attacked while you shouted out your attack's name."

Ippon got up slowly. "You bastard… It's is incredibly selfish to just take a stranglehold on someone's weakness like that. Even though I was trained while under an oath of silence, I couldn't let my talkative nature just stay within me, so I let it out at every instant I could. Every time I talk, I just can't stop myself! Nobody can stop me. Now I know I shouldn't be talking about not taking control of the situation like that, seeing as my captain seems to be quite fond of that, and myself, I have confused you with long names, but my speech still stands. You, first mate of this crew, you will not-"

"Your boss is right, you need to shut up!"

Desi started to move quickly from side to side. "**Finishing Move! Disuko Kenpou…**" He started to hop back and forth, and jumped right at Ippon, throwing well timed kicks and punches, uppercuts, hooks, high kicks, low kicks, each hit precise. "**Last Dance!**"

The flurry of attacks continued and eventually, when they died down, Desi and Ippon were both still standing.

Desi just looked into Ippon's eyes and smiled. "They call it 'Last Dance' for a reason…" With that, Desi took a quick breath and blew Ippon over, causing him to crash to the ground loudly.

Desi chuckled to himself, stuck his hands in his pockets and walked over to Roger.

Roger had his hand in the air and Desi raised his hand as well. He slapped Roger's hand loudly, in a high five type motion. "Tag out. You're in, captain."

Roger brought his arm down as if he was flexing and put his other hand on top of his bicep. "Glad to hear it…" He smiled widely.

"This is going to feel good!"

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**To Be Continued.**

_Roger: You'll pay for what you did! I am very mad at your cowardly actions._

_Max: Gah! Then why are you smiling?_

_Roger: I always smile! _

_Max: Fool… HE always used to smile as well… Back when I treasured his friendship…_

_Roger: "He"? Who's "he"?_

**Next Time on One Piece Chronicles: Max's True Colors. Remember a Friend's Betrayal**

_Roger: I'm going to be the Pirate King!_

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**A/N:** If you review now, you get a free toaster-slash-motorcycle! REVIEW NOW!

I would have had this up earlier today, but I was distracted by the manga Bowling King.

Check it out, but not before reviewing.


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